Dangerous Fireworks

[anotheoldgit]

Do others agree that fireworks are more dangerous than they once were?

I ask this because this morning I discovered a 2½ foot rocket, with a 3/8 square shaft, embedded 2½ inches into my front lawn.

Interesting to note, that printed on the side of the rocket head were the words "spectators must stand at least 25 metres away".

What about poor innocent persons who happen to be out on their front lawns, should we be expected to wear tin helmets?

[Togo]

Was it Elton John aog ?

[wolf63]

Togo - are aog and Elton John at war?

[Svejk]

I doubt aog will get any modern beat combo references, togo.

[scorpiojo]

Lol

[Togo]

wolfie I'd pay to watch the fight.
Svejk aog can use the net you know.

[anotheoldgit]

Prudie

/// Cheap display for us I suppose. ///

If one landed among your thatch. then maybe for your neighbours but not for you

[anotheoldgit]

What's all this Elton John thingy?

Please, please.please, let me join in.

[Togo]

Rocket Man aog.

[retrocop]

//Baldric

A 'Brodie' would be a great accessory for a gardening outfit!//


Balders
aog isn't that old. A Mk111 Turtle maybe!!! :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_III_helmet

[retrocop]

aog
Look on the bright side.You are not Israeli with nasty neighbours on the other side of the fence. :-(

[Mortartube]

Just to set the record straight, fireworks for sale to the general public are restricted in size and explosive content, also sound levels by law. Just because a firework looks large, it doesn't follow that it contains a lot of pyrotechnic content. The posting of the fire at a Bucharest nightclub was a cheap shot. If you set fireworks off in your living room, you can confidently expect it to end badly, the same goes for a nightclub. The fireworks weren't at fault. If someone threw a brick through your window, would you blame the brick? Would you call for all bricks to be banned?

[Mortartube]

I meant to add that the reason a rocket stick was embedded in your lawn is that the explosive content has usually been changed from flashpowder, which often destroyed the stick when a large rocket burst in the air, to blackpower, which leaves the stick intact and comes down like it did. The reason that it was changed was pressure to reduce the volume and content of explosives in fireworks precisely from the kind of people who complain about fireworks on here.

[Baldric]

And a patronising littlepost from a year or three back

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Animals-and-Nature/Question1169555.html

[roopower]

Part of the area where I live is supposed to be deprived but there have been large numbers of fireworks going off on all sides every night for well over a week now - including tonight. It sounds like World War three out there at the moment and probably will continue sporadically until about 11 pm

[Mortartube]

Indeed it was Baldric. I can happily accept that people dislike fireworks, but there are so many people here and elsewhere who spread lies and/or misinformation about them that I feel they need some defending. There are few real freedoms in this country to personally celebrate British occasions as anything other than an observer. I for one am proud that the British public are free to celebrate with fireworks. If the law isn't enforced regarding their use, that is not the fault of the fireworks. Stop accrediting the blame to a product when the product is not the problem is all I ask.

[woofgang]

Mortartube
"Just to set the record straight, fireworks for sale to the general public are restricted in size and explosive content, also sound levels by law"

a maximum of 3kg of explosive PER FIREWORK and 120 decibels of sound at 15 metres. The 3kg fireworks are of the type called "fountain cakes" and there is no limit to the number a purchaser can buy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireworks_law_in_the_United_Kingdom

[-SharonA-]

Lots being let off tonight!

[Baldric]

If the product was not available to the General Public there would not be a problem, and I object to being told to sedate my Animals by someone with no Veterinary qualifications whatsoever.

[Mortartube]

I will try to answer some of the previous points raised. Firstly regarding the maximum of 3kg of pyrotechnic composition in a cake. Not an unreasonable amount. Firstly it is important to remember that that amount is not ignited at one time and owing to the design, never will be, even if you threw it on a bonfire. If you had a 100 shot cake with 14mm tubes, each tube would have around 5 grams of gunpowder to launch the unit into the air. If it was a bombette unit (one that produces a starburst) 15 g of composition inside is not unreasonable. add 2g for a rising tail effect and 1g for the delay fuse, and we have a ballpark figure of 23g per tube. x 100 and we are up to 2.3kg. add about 20g for the time fuse that fires it and we are up to 2320g of composition. That much is required for it to function in 100 shots in a safe way to ensure it works correctly. As far as the comment about not being a vet is concerned, no, I am not. But the advice is passed on from qualified vets . There are many things that you can do to placate animals who are frightened, and I am not just talking about fireworks. Thunder storms can be frightening. Dogs in particular can have all sorts of things to help from sedative tablets, herbal sprays and the hug jacket that reassures them because it feels like they are being hugged by their owner. The argument about a product not being available is not always as clear cut as it would first seem. Many states in the USA and some other countries have more firework related accidents where they are banned, than when they are on sale, as people with little or no knowledge, mix highly dangerous chemical combinations together and cause injury or death to themselves and others. Handguns were banned in this country after the terrible events at Dunblane. So it follows that no handguns are ever used in a crime. Regulation is better than an underground that creates a black market for unregulated dangerous goods.