British firework classification

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British law classifies fireworks into four categories, listed in BS 7114:

  • Category 1 ("indoor") fireworks are for use in extremely restricted areas.
  • Category 2 ("garden") fireworks are for use by the public in their gardens. They must be safely viewable from 5 metres away, and must scatter no debris beyond a 3 metre range.
  • Category 3 ("display") fireworks are for use by the public in larger displays. They must be safely viewable from 25 metres away, and must scatter no debris beyond a 20 metre range.
  • Category 4 ("professional") fireworks are for sale only to fireworks professionals. They have no restrictions, and this is the default category for any firework which has not been tested to confirm that it should be in one of the lower categories.

Technically, it is not illegal for a firework to be set off at less than the minimum safely viewable distance; however, in the event of any injury to a spectator, the firer who did so would be personally liable for the unsafe use of explosives. (If an injury occurred to a spectator when a firework was set off at the proper safety distance, the firework manufacturer would be liable.)

[edit] Category 4 controversy

Some of the rules concerning category 4 fireworks have attracted controversy, typically concerning the following:

  • "Fireworks professionals": the law's definition on who is required to be considered a fireworks professional is not clear. Most notably, there is no legal requirement for training courses or display experience. Thus, technically it would be possible for an experienced firer who had conducted multiple Category 3 displays in absolute safety to be denied permission to buy Category 4 - while a junior intern working at a fireworks company, with no training or display experience, could be deemed a fireworks professional simply because of their employment and permitted to purchase them. However, Category 4 fireworks are not subject to the niceties that other categories of fireworks are: for example, they cannot be legally stored in a person's house or garage, but must be stored in a licensed magazine at a suitably safe distance from population centres. Likewise, they cannot be transported without a special license for explosives transport. Typically, UK firework suppliers will require proof that an individual or company can satisfy these requirements, as well as having appropriate insurance and display experience, before releasing Category 4 fireworks. Most stores that sell Category 4 fireworks however usually ask for proof of training these days. Most category 4 professionals use the BPA training scheme.
  • Mortar Shells: all fireworks of the "aerial shell"/"mortar shell" type - which launch single, large projectiles into the air where they explode to create effects - are deemed Category 4. This amendment was applied in 1994, following the deaths of Stephen Timcke and David Hattersley in two separate and distant incidents. In both cases, the person concerned had attempted to fire a (then) Category 3 mortar shell firework and was struck in the face by the shell as it launched, causing fatal injuries and burns from the impact and subsequent explosion of the shell. The main source of protest concerning this is that both individuals were firing the fireworks improperly, and that if fired carefully mortar shells are perfectly safe. However, most fireworks professionals and amateurs support the recategorisation of mortar shells regardless.

[edit] The fusing issue

A further controversial aspect of fireworks law in the UK is that no fireworks non-professional may modify the fuse of a firework, and that a firework so modified is deemed to be a different firework and thus will be Category 4, unless it is presented for testing. "Modifying a fuse" has a wide reaching definition, and does cover additions to the existing fuse, even if the original fuse is not altered.

The difficulty with this concerns electric ignition. Under electric ignition, a firework is detonated by a remote electric signal sent from a control unit; there is no need for a human firer to come physically close to the firework at the point of ignition. Thus, this method offers massive safety benefits. However, it requires adding an electric igniter to the end of the fuse, violating the rule barring modification of fuses and meaning that it can only be used by professional displayers - so denying any safety benefit to the non-professional displayers who need it most.

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