Warning on dangers of illegal fireworks

MOST OF the illegal fireworks and bangers on sale in markets and from street traders are sub-standard and liable to cause injury, the Health Service Executive (HSE) warned yesterday.

In a message directed primarily at parents, the HSE joined the fire services, the insurance industry, and ambulance and hospital services in warning of the high levels of injuries to individuals and property expected this Halloween.

Emergency services said they were expecting millions of euro of damage, with businesses expected to be burned, cars set alight and emergency personnel injured if the experience of last year was repeated.

In 2008 a garda had an eye socket badly damaged in an attack in Co Tipperary on Halloween night, while in Dublin two gardaí were hospitalised after they were set upon by youths.

Elsewhere, a fireman was taken to hospital with a serious eye injury after a fire engine was stoned on Sheriff Street in the north inner city. That year the fire service responded to almost 1,000 calls for emergency assistance.

A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said attacks on emergency services were becoming common and generally increased around Halloween.

The crews would stop to check a bonfire and then have stones thrown at them, he said.

Dublin Fire Brigade Siptu union convenor John Kidd said the number of attacks was increasing. Such attacks could cost lives, he said, and appealed for parents to supervise their children.

The Garda also warned that attacks on emergency services would not be tolerated.

Dr Joe Devlin of the HSE said every year children ended up tragically injured and often scarred for life due to handling fireworks manufactured without any safety standards.

According to the HSE, bonfires often contain highly combustible materials that cause respiratory problems and burns.

The HSE noted Halloween was the busiest time of the year for the fire services, and was hectic for ambulance and hospital services. It advised parents to ensure their children were aware of the dangers of bonfires, and said children should be accompanied to official bonfires.

AA Insurance asked parents using fireworks to be especially vigilant, and warned that damages caused by fireworks under personal supervision were “probably not covered by your home insurance policy”. AA director of policy Conor Faughnan said ideally no householder should have them anywhere near a house.

The AA also published a poll of 8,500 people showing that Cork residents were most likely to see a ghost, with Dubliners at the bottom of the list, while men seemed slightly more sceptical on the question than women.