Records indicate that pyrotechnics deaths in Malta date back to at least 1882. Still, we do not seem to have learnt much from such tragic experiences.
The last days of November claimed another life: Leonard Camilleri, 64, died in a fireworks explosion in Kirkop. A 45-year-old colleague who was also inside the plant had a lucky escape though he required hospital treatment. It was the second such accident this year.
Known to be a keen fireworks enthusiast, the deceased was the factory’s licence holder for a number of years. He had been injured in a similar accident 10 years ago and ‘retired’ for some time. But his passion for pyrotechnics lured him back.
Like him, many others keep returning to the many fireworks factories dotted across the Maltese islands knowing full well the danger they face.
It is perhaps useless for the rest of us to try to understand this strong passion. However, we should be demanding explanations as to why such tragedies keep recurring. Is it lack of a proper legal framework? Is there a dearth of properly trained people who manufacture and deal with fireworks? Could it be a matter of insufficient enforcement and irregular on-site inspections?
True, they are constantly handling very volatile material and substances and, so, accidents are likely to happen. However, at least one expert had once declared he considered it a fundamental problem in fireworks factories that “no one is scared anymore”.
Something must be wrong and that needs to be established urgently.
A government-commissioned technical report a few years back had established that if fireworks factories in Malta had to enjoy the same safety record as those in Britain, accidents here would only occur about once every 250 years.
After last summer’s explosion on the outskirts of Mosta, a pyrotechnics expert had recommended that summer months be avoided and that, to be on the safe side, fireworks should be produced when temperatures are as low as possible, when humidity is above 50 per cent and when the wind is not blowing from the south.
When the latest explosion happened, the maximum temperate was 18.8°C, dropping to a minimum of 13.6°C. Humidity was 86 per cent with the wind (8.3 knots) blowing from a southwesterly to northwesterly direction. True, a bad storm was brewing or, indeed, already in progress when the explosion occurred. Could that have been a contributing factor?
Knowing what happened exactly and what needs to be done to avoid a repetition is essential. Thus, all technical reports compiled by court-appointed experts should be published without any loss of time.
Along the years, various observations were made by pyrotechnic experts either when interviewed by the media, in opinion pieces or in published studies. Among them was the need to educate all those who are somehow involved in the manufacture and handling of fireworks; that slackness, overconfidence and haste should be avoided; that good management must prevail; and that, since most pyrotechnicians lack scientific background, they find it increasingly difficult to keep up with the changes being introduced in both chemicals and methods of production.
Taking robust action to make the manufacture and handling of fireworks as safe as humanly possible can and will most probably save lives and limbs. Politicians and cabinet members, acting fast to pay public tributes after every tragedy and to sit on the front benches during the ensuing funeral service, should use their influence and political power to do what their predecessors failed to do over the years.