Editorial: Safety first on fiery night

Be safe this Guy Fawke's night.

Guy Fawkes night, that dreaded time of the year for emergency services and animal welfare groups, is nearly upon us.

This week, Tauranga's Fire Risk Management Officer Bill Rackham reminded people to be safety conscious and for parents to ensure their children were adequately supervised around fireworks.

Mr Rackham says it is critical that people under the age of 18 do not light fireworks without proper supervision.

"What we typically find is kids going off to play with fireworks, doing things they probably shouldn't be doing."

It goes without saying that the end result of such a scenario can be disastrous.

As a child I loved Guy Fawkes.

I looked forward to November 5. It was the highlight of the year.

However, I also recall frequent reports of children sustaining terrible injuries as a result of mishap involving fireworks.

There has been much greater awareness of fireworks safety in recent years and growing debate about whether the private sale of fireworks should be banned.

There have been a number of restrictions introduced surrounding their sale.

These days, people have to be 18 to buy them and they can only be sold from November 2 to 5.

The SPCA has again spoken out about the dangers associated with fireworks.

Each year countless pets and other domestic animals are frightened by the noise and sight of fireworks.

SPCA chief executive Ric Odom says the short sale period for fireworks does not stop people lighting fireworks for months after the event.

He says the only sensible solution is to ban firework sales to individuals in favour of public displays.

He has a point.

The chances of someone being injured or for a fire starting would be greatly reduced if Guy Fawkes celebrations were limited to public displays.

I think it is only a matter of time before fireworks for private use are banned and only licensed public displays held.

As well as being safer, public displays are also more impressive and provide an opportunity for a community event.