The document provides safety tips for using sparklers, particularly around children. It advises that sparklers should never be given to children under 5 as they cannot use them safely. When children are using sparklers, adults should closely supervise, provide gloves, avoid loose clothing that could catch fire, teach children to hold sparklers away from their body and not run with them. It also provides first aid tips for burns, advising to cool with water and seek medical help when needed. The key message is that sparklers should be kept in safe hands and used carefully, as they can reach very high temperatures.

1. Twenty things you never knew about Fireworks
1. The first fireworks were probably made in China,
around 2,000 years ago.
2. Over 130 million fireworks were sold in Britain in
1995.
3. In the Far East, fireworks have been used at
religious ceremonies for centuries.
4. Last year over 900 people required hospital
treatment from accidents involving fireworks.
5. The word for firework in Japanese, 'hanabi',
means 'fire-flower'.
6. The display in London at the 1995 VJ Day
commemoration was Britain's biggest within living
memory. It used over 18 tonnes of fireworks and
spanned two miles.
7. Italy and France were the first European
countries to have fireworks, in the 1300s.
8. At family back-garden displays, sparklers cause
more injuries than air-bombs, bangers, rockets and
roman candles combined.
9. The first recorded use of fireworks in Britain was
at the wedding of Henry VII in 1486.
10. Half of all firework accidents happen to children
under the age fo 16.

2. Twenty things you never knew about Fireworks
11. The first fireworks recorded in America were set
off by an Englishman, Captain John Smith, famous in
the story of Pocahontas.
12. More than 60 under 5s went to hospital in 1997
following a firework accident.
13. Coloured fireworks didn't exist until the 1800s.
14. Three sparklers burning together generate the
same heat as a blow-torch.
15. The world's largest single firework was set off at
a festival in Japan in 1988. The shell weighed over
half a tonne and the burst was over a kilometre
across.
16. Hands and eyes are most at risk in firework
accidents.
17. A firecracker display in Malaysia in 1988 used
over 3 million crackers, measured almost 6
kilometres and burned for over 9 hours - the longest
display on record.
18. There is a British Safety Standard for fireworks:
BS 7114.
19. Most firework accidents are caused at family
back-garden displays closely followed by incidents in
the street.
20. Throwing a firework in a street or public place is
a criminal offence, with a maximum fine of £5000.

3. Background
On the death of Elizabeth 1 in 1603 the English Crown went to the next descendant of Henry VI 1. This was
the Scottish King Jarnes VI who had already been the King of Scotland for 36 years, having been crowned
when he was only 1 year old. He became James 1 of England and believed in 'the divine right of kings' and
took little notice of Members of Parliament. He found a country divided by religion and although he managed
to make enemies of both Protestants and Catholics he was looked upon as a Protestant king and persecution
of Catholics continued. A plot to kill him was devised only two years after James was crowned King of
England which became known as 'The Gunpowder Plot'. Members of this group of Catholics included Robert
Catesby, John Wright, Thomas Percy and Thomas Winter although the best remembered of the group is Guy
Fawkes -
•Born in York in 1570 and educated there as a Protestant.
•After his father's death he converted to Roman Catholicism.
•In 1593 he left England to become a 'soldier of fortune' and joined the Spanish army in Flanders. He
began to use the Spanish form of his name Guido Fawkes.
•Fawkes was approached in Flanders by Thomas Winter and crossed to England in 1604 to join the
group.
Initially a house was rented next door to the Houses of Parliament and it was proposed to dig a funnel f ram
the cellar to the House of Lords. There, barrels of gunpowder would be piled and when the King and all the
Members of Parliament were assembled for the opening of Parliament on February 7th 1605 the barrels
would be ignited. Guy Fawkes was set the task of lighting the fuse and escaping as best he could. Digging
began but progress was slow and by December 1604 the House of Lords had not been reached. It was then
learnt that the Opening had been postponed until 3rd October. A cellar directly under the House of Lords was
then taken by Guy Fawkes, under the name of Johnson, and he was instcilled as the servant of the new
owner. Small barrels of gunpowder were ferried across the River Thames by night, taken one by one into the
cellarand covered with firewood. Elaborate plans had been made by Catesby and the others as to wha t was to
happen following the death of King James. The Princess Elizabeth, a daughter of King James, was at once to
be proclaimed Queen. Fighting was anticipated before James' followers would agree to her accession and in
prepciration arms and ammunition were stored in various parts of the country. At this point a f urther member
was brought into the plot, Francis Tresham. Money was needed to buy arms and Tresham promised to give
£2,000.
The gro returned to London in September ready for the opening of Parliament but again it was postponed, th
is time to November 5th. During this further period of waiting one of the plotters, probably Francis Tresham,
wrote to Lord Mounteagle (his brother-in-law) with a warning not to be afthe ceremony as...'they shall
receive a terrible blow ... and yet shall not see who hurts them'. Guy Fawkes had been left in London again
whilethe others rode to positions around the country to be ready to 'rouse their fellow Catholics after the
death of the King. He was to spend the day prior to the ceremony in the cellar. A special slow-burning fuse
had been prepared and placed in position. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and outside he found Lord
Mounteagle and the Lord Chancellor who asked who he was and what he was doing. He replied he was a
servant of Thomas Percy (the cellar had been hired in his name). A quick look in the c ellar obviously
revealed nothing but stacks of firewood ready for winter and the two men went away. Guy Fawkes, after
contact with Thomas Percy to report the incident, returned calmly to the cellar. However, his sense of relief
was short-lived for late rthat night a magistrate and a file of soldiers suddenly appeared and Guy Fawkes was
overpowered. A more thorough search of the cellar soon revealed the thirty or more barrels of gunpowder
and Fawkes was taken away. The others could not be warned of the failure of the plot.

4. King James himself questioned Guy Fawkes and although he admitted to plotting to blow up the Houses of
Parliament he refused to give the names of other conspirators. Several of the group had joined together at
Holbeach and all realised there was no support for them - no-one would take up arms with them and risk their
lives in a cause that was obviously doomed to failure. Eventually the house they were staying in was
surrounded by soldiers and armed men. Catesby was killed and the others taken prisoner when they were too
weak or badly wounded to fight any longer. All were executed on 31 st January 1606 except for Francis
Tresham. He was sent to the Tower of London but not harshly treated. When he died shortly afterwards
poison was suspected but never proved. Part of the ceremony of the Opening of Parliament each year
includes a search of the buildings by the Yeoman of the Guards in their tudor uniforms, armed with pikes.
During the remaining years of Kings James' reign religious persecution of non Protestants continued. James
trusted no-one and he remained suspicious of Parliament, many bitter disagreements broke out between them
and he even tore out pages of the records of the House if they offended him. However, also at this time
English sailors were making long and dangerous passages trying to find ways to India and China by the
north-west passage. Although these attempts round the north of Canada failed many new lands were
discovered and trade flourished with China and the East. Attempts in the reign of Elizabeth 1 to colonise
North America had come to nothing but in 1620 a group of Pilgrim Fathers, finding life in England
impossible because of the bitter persecution imposed by James, founded the first permanent British Colony
there.This was the beginning of the British Empire. Also during the reign of King James the Bibl ewas revis
ed 'by His Majesty's special command'. 450 scholars who knew between them every language into which the
bible had been transcribed took 7 years to complete the task.

5. Safety with sparklers
•Store sparklers and other fireworks in a closed
box in a cool, dry place.
•Always light sparklers one at a time and wear
gloves.
•Never hold a baby or child if you have a sparkler in
your hand.
•Plunge finished sparklers hot end down into a
bucket of water as soon as they have burnt out.
They can stay hot for a long time.
•Don't take sparklers to public displays. It will be
too crowded to use them safely.
Keep sparklers in safe hands
Sparklers, like other fireworks, must be used
with care. They can get 6 times as hot as a pan
of cooking oil and sparkler injuries have been
on the increase. It makes sense to keep
sparklers in safe hands.

6. Children and sparklers
•Never give sparklers to the under 5s - they will not
understand how to use them safely.
•Always supervise children using sparklers.
•Give children gloves to wear when holding
sparklers.
•Avoid dressing children in loose or flowing clothes -
they may catch light.
•Show children how to hold sparklers - away from
their body and at arm's length.
•Teach children not to wave sparklers near anyone
else or run while holding them.
In an emergency
•Cool the burn or scald with cold water for at least
10 minutes.
•Cut around material sticking to the skin - don't pull
it off.
•Don't touch the burn or burst any blisters.
•Cover the burn with clean, non-fluffy material -
cling film is ideal - to prevent infection.
•If clothing catches fire, get the person to stop,
drop to the floor and roll them in heavy material
like a curtain.
•Get advice from your doctor or accident and
emergency department at your local hospital.

7. Children and sparklers
•Never give sparklers to the under 5s - they will not
understand how to use them safely.
•Always supervise children using sparklers.
•Give children gloves to wear when holding
sparklers.
•Avoid dressing children in loose or flowing clothes -
they may catch light.
•Show children how to hold sparklers - away from
their body and at arm's length.
•Teach children not to wave sparklers near anyone
else or run while holding them.
In an emergency
•Cool the burn or scald with cold water for at least
10 minutes.
•Cut around material sticking to the skin - don't pull
it off.
•Don't touch the burn or burst any blisters.
•Cover the burn with clean, non-fluffy material -
cling film is ideal - to prevent infection.
•If clothing catches fire, get the person to stop,
drop to the floor and roll them in heavy material
like a curtain.
•Get advice from your doctor or accident and
emergency department at your local hospital.