Flares and Fireworks What's The Law?

[RocquaineBay]

Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

As a curious old sod I am asking for the sake of a better understanding of the law. (or common sense!) Suppose I want to get rid of a couple (or any amount) of, out of date flares, would it be illegal to set them off on land, ON the night of 5th November? I am obviuosly keeping in mind the UK tradition of bonfire night and all that fireworks stuff. I know it might sound daft but I am of the thinking that it's a bit of a waste to destroy them and foolhardy to rely upon them in an emergency, so would it be wrong to use them strictly on this night in the way I have described?
Mike

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[tcm]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

I am failry sure there was a thread bout this, and fairly certain it is not ok at all! Firework rockets go out long before they hit the griound , marine flares designed to stay alight for a long time not to do so er so probly set a house off for starters.

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[jimi]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

Right .. this is extremeley dangerous so you'd better not try it. Get 4 large rockets and attach some chicken wire between them, light the rochets simultaneously and then lob the lit flares into the chichen wire. The large rockets will blast off carrying their dangerous cargo with them.

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[longjohnsilver]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

Last year around Christmas some idiot in the River Dart let off some flares for a bit of fun. The householder whose roof caught light wasn't so amused and the chap was pulled from his boat and spent the entire festive season locked up!

If you want to let off flares at any time you must first get permission from HMCG. And it's not very likely that they'll give it!

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[TheBoatman]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

It is illegal to fire distress flares other than if you are in distress. They burn far longer than ordinary fireworks and could come down still burning.

My advice is to keep them on the boat, you can never have too many. Always keep an in date set and use the old ones as back up.

The problem isn't whether they will go off but more a fact that they don't burn red but pink after a while.

On a recent flares demo we informed the local port authority and the CG when we were starting, we didn't let off any reds only greens and whites but at the end of the demo we contacted the CG to tell them we had finished and they told us they had recieved 5 calls reporting "distress flares sighted".

Please don't let them off.

Peter
RNLI
Sea Check Adviser

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[BrendanS]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

Quite right. very very wrong, very naughty, will get mega slapped wrists if caught, and no right minded responsible person would do it, as buring flares much more intense than fireworks, and burn through just about anything they land on, so much much more dangerous than fireworks

,,,and no one here would ever really do anything so reprehensible, would they??? <cough> I certainly didn't try it last year, and luckily being in farm land that flare would only have landed in the field nearby given the conditions at the time, where it would have burned for quite a while after landing, but would have been quite a lot of fun?

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[tcm]

Re: supplementy question

after loads of years, i will have the flares, the old flares, the really old flares and the olde worlde flares from before that. Other than deliberately sinking the boat, therby giving me a real reason for letting off the whole lot - howdya get rid of flares? Can we givem to you or somebody for your demo's ? serious question.

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[BrendanS]

Re: supplementy question

Went to one demo, where it was actually suggested everyone bring along any old flares they had, as it would add to the number of flare available for everyone to have a go at.

If anyone hasn't been to a hands on demo yet, I'd thoroughly recommend it. Some people struggle to let them off properly even after lecture and demonstration - much better than hit or miss when you actually need them for real, and everyone learns lots

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[tcm]

Re: supplementy question

ok, howdya find out about the demos?

Or was that part of the commuinity service

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[BrendanS]

Re: supplementy question

RNLI have volunteer peeps who come and do them. Usually a club thing. Can organise one for peeps here is we have enough interested. Hold it at Fawley activitity centre, next to power station in Solent. Others round the country if enough interested.

Usually held late afternoon weekends in wintertime, with classroom first, with empty handheld, injector pen type and rocket flares off all different types of makes, as they all have different mechanisms. Then outside when dusk to let lots off

Caveat is that though permission is granted beforehand to do it, permission is only really given a few minutes before flare firing, in case there are any real emergencies being handled, in which case coastguard don't want loads of phone calls!!!!!! and they do get a fair number. So if anything goes off on the water, no flare firing on the day, and peeps would have to contribute money up front so we could get classroom hired etc

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[Twister_Ken]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

All the advice so far seems to concern paraflares, but presumably a white handheld could be used at a Guy Fawkes night without causing lifeboats to launch and helos to scramble.

If you were to do such a thing then probably you'd want to make sure that you hold it downwind of yourself and have a bucket of water ready to drop the white hot leftovers into. You wouldn't, of course, do it over your favourite flower bed as lots of hot dross falls out. You'd almost certainly wear a stout glove and you wouldn't let off an orange smoke unless there were nothing valuable for some distance downwind.



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[StephenSails]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

So I should not use red hand flares for lighting the garden bonfire when everything is damp!



Now where is my red can of petrol............................

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[orion21]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

this is of the RNLI site


An appeal is being made to the public not to use flares as substitute fireworks during this year’s Guy Fawkes celebrations. The RNLI and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) say that rescuers’ lives are put at risk every time lifeboat and helicopter crews are called out, in hazardous winter conditions, to what they assume to be a genuine cry for help.

The problem is increasing year on year, possibly because the festivities are no longer restricted to one night. The last three years have seen RNLI volunteer crews called out 35 times to false alarms caused by revellers using flares to light up the night sky.

RNLI Staff Officer Operations Peter Bradley says: ‘When a flare goes up it is universally recognised as a distress signal, so it’s no surprise to find concerned members of the public dialling 999 when they see one – and they should continue to do so. Our volunteer crews are always ready to answer the call, but it is frustrating for them to search through the night because a flare has been fired for the wrong reasons. Not only are they called away from their own family parties on Guy Fawkes Night, but they are also risking their lives each time they put to sea, needlessly searching in often very dangerous conditions.’

MCA Head of Search and Rescue Peter Dymond, says: ‘Often people are tempted to use up their out of date flares on Bonfire Night, but this causes real problems for the rescue services. We would urge sailors to dispose of flares safely and responsibly by contacting their nearest Coastguard station. Out of date flares should be replaced straight away – they are an essential part of every sailor’s kit and are meant to help save lives, not endanger them.’


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[ChrisE]

Re: supplementy question

What you need to do is to strap a load of diesel onto your flattop, head west for 3000 miles you should be in Bequai in time for New Years eve where the world and his brother lets off flares at the stroke of midnight.

Hope this helps.

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[Gunfleet]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

What about the chicken?

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[ChrisE]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

What's this about jimi and a chicken, we need to be told!

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[ccscott49]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

It's a fair cop guv!

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[Gunfleet]

Re: supplementy question

Go to the bassin Vauban in St Malo on Bastille Day. Everyone else will be letting off flares so why not you???

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[Brian_B]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

The only sensible way to use up old handheld flares is to let them off at continental football matches.

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[AndrewB]

Re: Flares and Fireworks What\'s The Law?

Did my YM practical examination on the Solent on November 5th some years ago. Of course, the moment a red parachute went up that evening, we examinees were discussing the need to put out a Mayday Relay.

"Don't be silly", the RYA examiner told us, "the RNLI aren't going to take you seriously tonight".

We must have seen a dozen or more go up before we packed in. There aren't that many lifeboats in the Western Solent.

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