New culture minister says fireworks safety can be improved but does not say how

The new culture minister has said there is room to strengthen safety practices in the fireworks sector following this month’s explosion at the Lourdes Fireworks Factory.

Malcolm Paul Agius Galea was speaking to Times of Malta at one of his first official events since being appointed culture minister.

The explosion at the factory on Triq il-Qadi caused widespread damage to properties in the area and killed several animals.

Two men were taken to hospital after the blast, which happened at about 6.30am and registered a magnitude of 1.9 on the Richter scale.

“We will continue to work on the safety, but there is no decision to detach fireworks from culture,” he said.

Agius Galea said the ministry had already held “internal discussions” about the sector and that he would continue building on work started by his predecessor, Owen Bonnici, to improve safety at fireworks factories.

“There was already a lot of work done regarding security, and there are strong frameworks in place,” he said, adding that those frameworks were in place before this month’s explosion.

The minister declined to give details about the specific safeguards that could be introduced, citing the ongoing magisterial inquiry.

The inquiry is being led by Magistrate Joe Mifsud.

Agius Galea said he would act on its findings once they are known. 

Asked what safety improvements the government wanted to introduce, he said: “There were already schemes in place that we will continue to strengthen.”

He said the ministry would assess those schemes alongside the inquiry’s findings and use them to guide further work in the sector.

Agius Galea also said that he wants to place greater emphasis on education moving forward as well. 

“It is very important that this is tackled educationally. Even in terms of the mindset towards safety when it comes to fireworks workers.”

The Lourdes Fireworks Factory blast unfolded in a series of explosions. 

Several buildings in the area were damaged.

While no one was killed or seriously injured, farmers reported the death of four cows, birds at a nearby bird park were also affected, and horses in nearby stables were injured by falling debris. 

The same factory had been the site of an earlier accident.

On March 17, 2020, as Malta was entering its first pandemic lockdown, a 27-year-old man suffered extensive third-degree burns, particularly to his face, while making fireworks at the site.

A petition calling for safer fireworks regulations has gathered more than 5,000 signatures since the explosion this month.