I’ve never forgotten the night at the start of November a few years ago when our cat, Bark, was desperate to go outside and enjoy adventures in the garden.
He was resolute, all primped up and ready for whatever life could fling at him – or at least he was until whizz-bangs and explosions started creating an almighty racket at after 10pm in a residential estate just a few hundred metres away.
Suddenly, there was a terrified face at the window and, when we opened the door, he did a remarkable Usain Bolt impersonation as he bounded for a safe space and an escape from the pyrotechnic madness which was erupting in the neighbourhood.
It wasn’t November 5, or even the 3rd or 4th, and this was happening at a time when many people were winding down and preparing to go to bed. But that’s the problem with fireworks – it only takes a few thoughtless individuals to quite literally spark mayhem – which is why it is very good news that the Scottish Government is clamping down on the times when the bangers and rockets can be Catherine wheeled out.
New restrictions on the sale and use of fireworks in Scotland were passed by MSPs earlier this year, which have created a licensing scheme as a means of limiting the number of days when they can be sold.
Not everybody supports the legislation. The Scottish Conservatives have warned it would lead to stockpiling and create a “black market”, while several traders have expressed fears that illegal incendiary devices will end up in the wrong hands.
Yet, it’s not as if the majority of us are calling for a wholesale ban on fireworks or a pyrotechnic prohibition. In the right circumstances, they can be an enjoyable escape from everyday drudgery and the arrival of the dark Scottish winter, paricularly when communities join forces with experts to organise the evening’s entertainment.
Sadly, though, in the wrong hands, they can cause misery, alarm, injury – and worse. The Scottish SPCA’s Gilly Mendes Ferreira has witnessed it for herself.
She said: ‘‘Every year, thousands of animals suffer stress and anxiety caused by the use of fireworks. As animals have more acute hearing than humans, the loud and high pitched noises made by fireworks can cause animals to become fearful and distressed.
Be careful when setting a bonfire
“Animals can panic and flee at the sound of the bang and this can lead them towards danger such as being the cause of a road traffic accident, which also puts human lives at risk. Our advice for those with animals includes not walking your dog at night when fireworks are being set off, bringing all pets indoors, and stabling horses.
“Make sure that doors, windows and cat flaps are kept closed so your pet doesn’t become distressed and try to escape. If you’re setting a bonfire, always check for cats or wildlife before setting it alight. If you are going to hold a private display, let your neighbours know, so they can safeguard against any distress animals may face.”
It’s not just beloved pets and the world of wildlife which can be caught up in the doleful consequences of an errant firework blowing up unexpectedly or what seems like a small appealing little blaze in the garden suddenly developing into a conflagration.
Consultant plastic surgeon, David McGill, said: “We see a rise in burn injuries around Bonfire Night unfortunately, and I’ve seen firework injuries in both adults and children.
“Children are frequently burned with sparklers. There’s a misunderstanding of how hot sparklers can get – they can cause severe burns to fingers and hands, or catch clothing alight. These injuries can be life changing for patients.
“To minimise the risks to you and your family, a public arranged event would be by far the safest way to view fireworks.”
I’m fully aware there will be people branding me a Puritan or asking whether I ever had a childhood. I did – and I loved fireworks at the annual council-arranged festivities.
But, in the future, 20 or 30 years from now, it will seem bizarre that people could simply walk into retail outlets and purchase boxes of dynamite.
And besides, there are more than enough displays planned next week to ensure that Bonfire Night won’t be a damp squib.
FACT BOX
Former Community Safety Minister Ash Regan believes the recently-introduced Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill will reduce distress and injury.
The new law will only allow fireworks to be bought and used by members of the public at certain times of the year, including Guy Fawkes Day, Hogmanay, the Chinese New Year and Diwali.
It will also become an offence to give fireworks to or buy them for a child. And local authorities throughout Scotland will be able to establish “firework control zones” where it will be an offence for them to be utilised, by either the public or professionals, other than in a display “of essential purposes”.
A new system will mean people must have a licence to buy and use certain fireworks.