Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service – Advice for a safe Bonfire Night

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service – Advice for a safe Bonfire Night
With Bonfire Night fast approaching, Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service is warning people not to take risks with fireworks.
While most people treat fireworks with respect, a small minority treat them as toys and forget that they are actually explosives. To stay safe this Bonfire Night, always remember the following advice:
- Keep fireworks in a closed metal box and take them out one at a time.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on each firework. Read them by torchlight – NEVER use a naked flame.
- Light fireworks at arm’s length using a safety firework lighter or fuse wick.
- Stand back after lighting.
- NEVER go back to a firework once lit – it may go off in your face.
- Keep a bucket of water handy.
- Used fireworks should be collected after the display with care. Douse with water, bury or place in a metal container.
- Keep children under control.
- Keep pets indoors.
Bonfires present additional hazards when it’s dark. If you must light a bonfire in connection with a fireworks display, then:
- Site it well away from houses, garages, sheds, fences, overhead cables, trees and shrubs, and ALWAYS away from fireworks.
- Before lighting the fire, check that no pets or children are hiding inside it.
- Build the stack so that it is stable and will not collapse outwards or to one side.
- NEVER use flammable liquids such as paraffin or petrol to light the fire.
- Don’t burn foam-filled furniture, aerosols, tins of paint or bottles.
- Keep everyone away from the fire, especially children, who must be supervised all the time.
- In case of emergency, keep buckets of water, the garden hose or a fire extinguisher ready.
Pour water on the embers before leaving
Michael Franklin MInstLM
Partnership & Community Engagement Manager (Wiltshire Council Area)
Community Safety ;Protection & Partnerships Department
Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service
Hilperton Road
TROWBRIDGE
BA14 7JB
Tele: 07919 306037
e-mail: michael.franklin@wiltsfire.gov.uk
Page last updated: October 29th, 2013 at 3:24 am