Firework Fears: Rising safety and welfare concerns spark calls for stricter rules

The use of fireworks has become a growing safety concern across the UK, with mounting evidence of the risks they pose to both young people and animals. 

BCP Council hosted a free fireworks showcase on the 5th of November to commemorate Bonfire Night. 

While the display was commencing at Poole Quay, many young people opted to hold their own firework shows at home, with some resulting in potentially life-threatening outcomes. 

Bournemouth resident, Imogen Derham, experienced first-hand how a seemingly harmless home display can go wrong, with one of her fireworks exploding and entering her living room. 

She expressed, “I have never been so scared, I truly thought it would start a house fire. My housemates didn’t understand my concern when I expressed, we should be using fireworks at home.” 

According to the Children’s Burn Trust, more than 550 children under 16 are taken to A&E in the four weeks surrounding Bonfire Night due to firework-related injuries. 

One of Imogen’s housemates -Leah Chikwari- shared that the experience completely changed her perspective: “The explosion really changed my opinion on using fireworks at home.

People should only be allowed to use them once they have been trained or at least educated on the danger”. 

But the risks don’t stop with people, fireworks also have a severe impact on animals. 

The Dogs Trust found in 2022 to 2023 that 49% of dogs in the UK are negatively affected by fireworks. 

Neil Arnold from Fur Buddies –an animal rehoming centre- described the distress caused to animals in his care, “they become very stressed, and they just can’t handle the noise” with the animals becoming overwhelmed as “it’s not just firework night nowadays, it’s all week before and half a week afterwards”. 

Growing concern for both public safety and animal welfare has led to a petition calling for firework sales to be restricted to council-run events only. 

The petition has already gained over 173,000 signatures on the UK Government and Parliament website, with it being endorsed by many communities and organisations, such as ‘Protect the Wild’. 

The growing concerns highlight the urgent need for stricter firework regulations; the petition is currently awaiting the date for the Parliament debate.