I absolutely love Bonfire Night. It is one of my favourite times of year, when the cold is beginning to bite a little but people still come together to enjoy something special in the outdoors.
I love the spectacle of the fireworks, the heat of a bonfire, sharing a night with my family and with the wider community. In recent years we’ve made a habit of heading up to Bole Hills in Sheffield, taking in spectacular views of firework displays across the city.
We’re not alone in this, every year the park is flooded with families, locals and students each taking part in their own little annual rituals. Fish and chips, hotdog or toffee apple in hand, people come from far and wide to enjoy the festivities.
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This year we took a visitor from abroad to the park, hoping to show them one of the best bits of British culture. Sadly, we left having scared our poor guest half to death thanks to people taking risks with fireworks.
I’m not just talking about the people putting on their own unregulated little displays on public land. These were worrying enough with rockets being lit on parkland meters from where children were stood.
The vast majority of the four or five groups doing this seemed to have their aim well set over the valley. The majority of the rockets went up at a safe angle even if no precautions were really being taken to protect the people around them.
The thing that really worried our visitor were the rockets launched at low angles, seemingly aimed at other people. Early in the night a volley of fireworks were launched horizontally from the wooded area near the bowling green, exploding a short distance above the crowds gathered on the hillside.
Footage from later in the evening, long after we’d left, showed a firework fight between a group on the basketball courts. Rockets launched deliberately to harm others.
I’d been given a hint this might happen earlier in the night, a group of teens passed with projectiles in hands speaking about where they were going to have their firework fight. We moved away from them as to avoid getting caught in any crossfire.
The whole evening was tinged with an unpleasant feeling that someone might get seriously hurt. The small displays of rockets shooting up from the park over the valley punctuated by those launched with malice.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said they handled 74 emergency calls on Bonfire Night itself and responded to 34 incident across the region. After witnessing what I did in my local area, I’m only surprised it wasn’t more.
In the UK, category 2 and 3 fireworks are classed as ‘adult’ fireworks and can only be bought by those over the age of 18 during certain times of the year. Category 3 fireworks can contain over 500g of gunpowder and have an upper noise limit of a staggering 120dB.
The safe spectator distance for the category 2 fireworks is between 8m and 15m while category 3 requires a distance of 25m. Category 4 fireworks can only be used by professionals and are not available for general purpose.
It is illegal to set off fireworks (including sparklers weirdly) in the street or public place. Breaking these laws can result in an on-the-spot fine of £90.
After the events of Sunday night, it is clear to me that more needs to be done as this deterrent isn’t strong enough. Nobody should feel like they’re entering a warzone in their own local area due to the stupidity of others. More regulation on sales is needed before someone is seriously hurt.
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