Why fireworks are banned

[USNRET]

here is what it looked like from my back porch last night as the celebratory fireworks from the beach crowd caught the dunes on fire. Fire dept did a great job preventing the fire from jumping the road and getting into the houses. Mean while the drunkards kept right on shooting off the fireworks.

[Groomlakearea51]

Not banned here, but they oughta' be. Raining, but they went nuts anyways. So it looked and sounded like the bridge scene from "Apocalypse Now" up and down the street. I sat in the man cave and cringed, just waiting for the bullets they fire up.... that must come down... while playing "The End" by the Doors....

[H]

[USNRET]

We have a nice 'sanctioned' display fired from the USS Lexington, fought the morons with driver licenses and then came home to the fire.

[BigStewMan]

was driving....well crawling down Pacific Coast HIghway last night through Huntington Beach while the city's firework display was being held on the pier. bumper to bumper traffic, with most drivers spending an equal amount of time looking at the fireworks instead of the road. This idiot in the car next to me, has his two small children standing up with their heads outside of the sunroof while he drives. i'm thinking that this situation is ripe for a rear-end collision and the guy must be aware of that--yet he lets his two children hang outside the sunroof? i don't get it. they're just fireworks. Steve

[colterphoto1]

Battling with a PA with sick speaker cables to the right mains. Packed house and 90 degree heat. I was one of the last to leave, having put the PA away and helped the band off with all of their stuff. Got a few nice pix though.

I prefer to remain a safe distance away and let the pros do the work. The night before I was treated to a return home around a cloud of sulpher smoke. Neighbor is licensed pyrotechnician who 'rolls his own' and goes nuts for any holiday like, say, arbor day. I hope no one gets hurt during one of those parties. I keep my vehicles indoors so they don't get burn marks. geesh.

[flannj]

I like to celebrate the birth of our nation by blowing up little pieces of it.

[Amy]

I hate them, personally. Not the professional shows, but the home-spun variety. Just accidents waiting to happen. I try not to leave my house.

Speaking of accidents, after much begging, I finally let Steven light a sparkler. I always had them growing up - never had an incident. What's the harm? When it stopped sparkling, he promptly put his fingers on the glowing ember, even after repeated warnings not to. I swear, that boy is so stubborn, he's going to have to learn everything for himself - no amount of me telling him anything sinks in.

I'll stick with pop-its next year. Those are safe, right? Or maybe just glow sticks.

[dtel]

NICE avatar Amy ! []

If you can't burn something down or blow it up that takes the fun out of it ?

OK maby not, I still remember how much trouble I got into on the forum when I made a fire one New Years eve, I got my butt chewed out for being stupid lighting this thing. [:-*]

I have not done this again......................................on this scale. [:$]

This was building it.........

[Mallette]

Sheesh, dtel, they'd go ballistic if the ever drove down the levies in Lousiana around Christmas. Yours is about par in size, and I think every cajun family down there builds and ignites one to welcome the Christ child...

Dave

[mungkiman]

I heard on the radio that more people die from fireworks each year, than died in the Revolutionary War...

[JJkizak]

Hmmmm. another statistical victim.

JJK

[dtel]

#1 Weed out the idiots.

#2 You can only die once.

#3 Try to avoid rule #1

#4 If all else fails see rule #2

I have been an idiot and was just lucky.

[BigStewMan]

i think i remember that picture DTEL--quite a blaze if i recall. I guess when that things lit up, you can buy the marshmellows at the store--already toasted!

[dtel]

Sheesh, dtel, they'd go ballistic if the ever drove down the levies in Lousiana around Christmas. Yours is about par in size, and I think every cajun family down there builds and ignites one to welcome the Christ child...

Dave

Your exactly right. http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/ChristmasEveBonfires.html

[dtel]

i think i remember that picture DTEL--quite a blaze if i recall. I guess when that things lit up, you can buy the marshmellows at the store--already toasted!

It really took a long time to really get going, it rained for three days before and everything was really wet. By the time it really got going everyone was on the other side of the pond about 250'-300' away, a little far for marshmallows. [8o|] It was a nice fire and the reflection on the pond was nice also, the next morning all that was left was about 6" of the end of each log that was dug into the ground to keep it upright.

If I ever do that again I will build it like the fires along the Mississippi River.

[Jay481985]

I hate them, personally. Not the professional shows, but the home-spun variety. Just accidents waiting to happen. I try not to leave my house.

Speaking of accidents, after much begging, I finally let Steven light a sparkler. I always had them growing up - never had an incident. What's the harm? When it stopped sparkling, he promptly put his fingers on the glowing ember, even after repeated warnings not to. I swear, that boy is so stubborn, he's going to have to learn everything for himself - no amount of me telling him anything sinks in.

I'll stick with pop-its next year. Those are safe, right? Or maybe just glow sticks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparkler

Safety issues

Sparklers are responsible for the vast majority (insert numbers here
author) of legal firework-related injuries. The most common situation
for injuries occurs when lit sparklers are given to unsupervised
children, many of whom may not understand the risks. The devices burn at
a high temperature (as hot as 1800 to 3000° F,
or 1000 to 1600° C), depending on the fuel and oxidizer used, more
than sufficient to cause severe skin burns or ignite clothing. Safety
experts recommend that adults ensure children who handle sparklers are
properly warned, supervised and wearing non-flammable clothing
which cannot catch fire easily. Children who are too young to
understand the risk of burns should not be allowed to handle lit
sparklers. As with all fireworks, sparklers are also capable of
accidentally initiating wildfires. This is especially true in drier
areas; in Australia, for instance, sparkler-related bushfire
accidents have led to their banning at public outdoor events during
summer like Australia Day celebrations.

[CECAA850]

I've also seen bad things happen when sparklers are used to light another pyrotechnic device. Typically, someone will put the hot part of the sparkler stick on the end of a fuse to light it, and a spark will jump to the base of the fuse, and it will immediately go off.

[Coytee]

I swear, that boy is so stubborn, he's going to have to learn everything for himself - no amount of me telling him anything sinks in.

You would think with all the noggin bashing tricks you have learned to keep 'us' in place, you could use some of those tricks on Steven. guess he's smarter than all of us put together.

I agree with Dtel....nice avatar pic, keeps those ear lobes hidden! [<)]

[artto]

can you say

"sulphur + charcoal + rock salt" [li]

?

oops, almost forgot to include alcohol with that. [<)]

[Jay481985]

i think i remember that picture DTEL--quite a blaze if i recall. I guess when that things lit up, you can buy the marshmellows at the store--already toasted!

It really took a long time to really get going, it rained for three days before and everything was really wet. By the time it really got going everyone was on the other side of the pond about 250'-300' away, a little far for marshmallows. It was a nice fire and the reflection on the pond was nice also, the next morning all that was left was about 6" of the end of each log that was dug into the ground to keep it upright.

If I ever do that again I will build it like the fires along the Mississippi River.

Has the local airport called and asked for your help for airplane signals?