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The Fireworks Code

Before they explode read the code!

1 Light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves
2 Never give sparklers to a child under 5
3 Buy fireworks marked BS 7114
4 Keep fireworks in a closed box
5 Follow the instructions on each firework
6 Light them at arm's length using a taper
7 Stand well back
8 Never go back to a lit firework
9 Never put fireworks in your pocket
10 Never throw fireworks
11 Keep pets indoors

Safety Checklist

KEEP SPARKLERS IN SAFE HANDS.

SPARKLERS INJURED MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER FIREWORKS IN 1997.

MANY OF THE VICTIMS WERE CHILDREN UNDER FIVE.

Follow our easy checklist to keep your child safe this year

Before the display

  • Check the fireworks you buy are suitable for the size of garden and conform to British Standards (BS 7114; 1988)

  • Ensure your display area is free from hazards

  • Do not tamper with firework

  • Read the instructions in daylight

  • Warn neighbors, especially the elderly and those with animals, about your display

  • One person - clearly identified - should be responsible for fireworks

Things you will need on the night

  • Metal box, with a lid for storage

  • Torch for checking instructions

  • Bucket of water

  • Protective hat, eye protection and gloves

  • First Aid kit

  • Bucket of soft earth to stick fireworks in

  • A board for flat bottomed fireworks

  • Suitable supports for Catherine wheels

  • Proper launchers for rockets

During the display

  • Light fireworks at arm's length with a taper

  • Stand well back

  • Never go back to a lit firework

  • Keep storage box closed between use

  • Keep children under control

After the display

  • Use tongs or gloves to collect spent fireworks

  • Next morning check again and remove firework debris

Sparklers

  • Unsuitable for children under five

  • Light one at a time

  • Hold at arm's length

  • Wear gloves when holding sparklers

  • Put used sparklers hot end down into a bucket of sand or water

Bonfires

  • Organize properly

  • Should be at least 18 metres (60 feet) away from houses, trees, hedges, fences or sheds

  • Before lighting, check for animals and children

  • Use domestic firelighters

  • Never use petrol, paraffin or other flammable liquids

  • Never put used fireworks, aerosols, foam-filled furniture, batteries, tins of paint or tyres on a bonfire

 

History

THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 


On the death of Elizabeth 1 in 1603 the English Crown went to the next descendant of Henry VI 1. This was the Scottish King James VI who had already been the King of Scotland for 36 years, having been crowned when he was only 1 year old. He became James 1 of England and believed in 'the divine right of kings' and took little notice of Members of Parliament. He found a country divided by religion and although he managed to make enemies of both Protestants and Catholics he was looked upon as a Protestant King and persecution of Catholics continued. A plot to kill him was devised only two years after James was crowned King of England which became known as 'The Gunpowder Plot'. Members of this group of Catholics included Robert Catesby, John Wright, Thomas Percy and Thomas Winter although the best remembered of the group is Guy Fawkes - 

Born in York in 1570 and educated there as a Protestant. 
After his father's death he converted to Roman Catholicism. 
In 1593 he left England to become a 'soldier of fortune' and joined the Spanish army in Flanders. He began to use the Spanish form of his name Guido Fawkes. 
Fawkes was approached in Flanders by Thomas Winter and crossed to England in 1604 to join the group. 
Initially a house was rented next door to the Houses of Parliament and it was proposed to dig a tunnel from the cellar to the House of Lords. There, barrels of gunpowder would be piled and when the King and all the Members of Parliament were assembled for the opening of Parliament on February 7th 1605 the barrels would be ignited. Guy Fawkes was set the task of lighting the fuse and escaping as best he could. Digging began but progress was slow and by December 1604 the House of Lords had not been reached. It was then learnt that the Opening had been postponed until 3rd October. A cellar directly under the House of Lords was then taken by Guy Fawkes, under the name of Johnson, and he was instilled as the servant of the new owner. Small barrels of gunpowder were ferried across the River Thames by night, taken one by one into the cellar and covered with firewood. Elaborate plans had been made by Catesby and the others as to what was to happen following the death of King James. The Princess Elizabeth, a daughter of King James, was at once to be proclaimed Queen. Fighting was anticipated before James' followers would agree to her accession and in preparation arms and ammunition were stored in various parts of the country. At this point a further member was brought into the plot, Francis Tresham. Money was needed to buy arms and Tresham promised to give £2,000. 

The group returned to London in September ready for the opening of Parliament but again it was postponed, this time to November 5th. During this further period of waiting one of the plotters, probably Francis Tresham, wrote to Lord Mounteagle (his brother-in-law) with a warning not to be at the ceremony as...'they shall receive a terrible blow ... and yet shall not see who hurts them'. Guy Fawkes had been left in London again while the others rode to positions around the country to be ready to 'rouse their fellow Catholics after the death of the King. He was to spend the day prior to the ceremony in the cellar. A special slow-burning fuse had been prepared and placed in position. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and outside he found Lord Mounteagle and the Lord Chancellor who asked who he was and what he was doing. He replied he was a servant of Thomas Percy (the cellar had been hired in his name). A quick look in the cellar obviously revealed nothing but stacks of firewood ready for winter and the two men went away. Guy Fawkes, after contact with Thomas Percy to report the incident, returned calmly to the cellar. However, his sense of relief was short-lived for late that night a magistrate and a file of soldiers suddenly appeared and Guy Fawkes was overpowered. A more thorough search of the cellar soon revealed the thirty or more barrels of gunpowder and Fawkes was taken away. The others could not be warned of the failure of the plot. 

King James himself questioned Guy Fawkes and although he admitted to plotting to blow up the Houses of Parliament he refused to give the names of other conspirators. Several of the group had joined together at Holbeach and all realized there was no support for them so no-one would take up arms with them and risk their lives in a cause that was obviously doomed to failure. Eventually the house they were staying in was surrounded by soldiers and armed men. Catesby was killed and the others taken prisoner when they were too weak or badly wounded to fight any longer. All were executed on 31st January 1606 except for Francis Tresham. He was sent to the Tower of London but not harshly treated. When he died shortly afterwards poison was suspected but never proved. Part of the ceremony of the Opening of Parliament each year includes a search of the buildings by the Yeoman of the Guards in their Tudor uniforms, armed with pikes. 

During the remaining years of Kings James' reign religious persecution of non Protestants continued. James trusted no-one and he remained suspicious of Parliament, many bitter disagreements broke out between them and he even tore out pages of the records of the House if they offended him. However, also at this time English sailors were making long and dangerous passages trying to find ways to India and China by the north-west passage. Although these attempts round the north of Canada failed many new lands were discovered and trade flourished with China and the East. Attempts in the reign of Elizabeth 1 to colonize North America had come to nothing but in 1620 a group of Pilgrim Fathers, finding life in England impossible because of the bitter persecution imposed by James, founded the first permanent British Colony there. This was the beginning of the British Empire. Also during the reign of King James the Bible was revised by His Majesty's special command'. 450 scholars who knew between them every language into which the bible had been transcribed took 7 years to complete the task.

Twenty one things you never knew about Fireworks

1. The first fireworks were probably made in China, around 2,000 years ago.

2. Over 130 million fireworks were sold in Britain in 1995.

3. In the Far East, fireworks have been used at religious ceremonies for centuries.

4. Last year over 900 people required hospital treatment from accidents involving fireworks.

5. The word for firework in Japanese, 'hanabi', means 'fire-flower'.

6. The display in London at the 1995 VJ Day commemoration was Britain's biggest within living memory. It used over 18 tonnes of fireworks and spanned two miles.

7. Italy and France were the first European countries to have fireworks, in the 1300s.

8. At family back-garden displays, sparklers cause more injuries than air-bombs, bangers, rockets and roman candles combined.

9. The first recorded use of fireworks in Britain was at the wedding of Henry VII in 1486.

10. Half of all firework accidents happen to children under the age of 16.

11. The first fireworks recorded in America were set off by an Englishman, Captain John Smith, famous in the story of Pocahontas.

12. More than 60 under 5s went to hospital in 1997 following a firework accident.

13. Coloured fireworks didn't exist until the 1800s.

14. Three sparklers burning together generate the same heat as a blow-torch.

15. The world's largest single firework was set off at a festival in Japan in 1988. The shell weighed over half a tonne and the burst was over a kilometre across.

16. Hands and eyes are most at risk in firework accidents.

17. A firecracker display in Malaysia in 1988 used over 3 million crackers, measured almost 6 kilometres and burned for over 9 hours - the longest display on record.

18. There is a British Safety Standard for fireworks: BS 7114.

19. Most firework accidents are caused at family back-garden displays closely followed by incidents in the street.

20. Throwing a firework in a street or public place is a criminal offence, with a maximum fine of £5000.

21. It is illegal to purchase fireworks if you are under the age of 18 years.

Please visit www.fireworksafety.co.uk for more information