Fireworks

by Zodiac Wed 26 Feb 2020, 6:12 pm

Halifax council studies quiet fireworks displays to avoid alarming veterans

Feb 26, 2020

HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia city councillor is pushing for quiet fireworks in Halifax out of concern the noise is alarming veterans and people on the autism spectrum.

However some in the pyrotechnics industry say the idea is likely to fizzle when the City of Halifax views the high costs, while a veteran with PTSD notes not all people with wartime traumas react badly to the shows.

An amended version of a motion proposed by Coun. David Hendsbee was sent to council staff on Tuesday night, following a 13-2 vote in favour of further study.

It requests examination of the cost and “possible benefits associated with using silent pyrotechnics over traditional fireworks,” along with information on the health impacts of the popular displays.

A few other Canadian jurisdictions, including Banff, Alta., have abandoned fireworks displays, though in Banff’s case it was due to concerns over frightening wildlife.

Ray Brazeau, a licensed pyrotechnician and president of StarLite Pyrotechnics Ltd., said the alternative to pyrotechnics is as much as four times more expensive, would occur close to the ground and would still make some loud noise.

“If you want something quiet, nothing is going to go higher than 12 feet,” he said.

Hendsbee, the councillor for Preston-Chezzetcook-Eastern Shore who brought the motion forward, said he’s been hearing from veterans in the region that the noise can trigger their PTSD.

“I heard veterans who’ve had to go hide in the basement and put on noise-deafening headphones because it brings back terrible memories of their war experiences,” the veteran municipal politician said.

He is looking for information on a “quieter, more gentle fireworks display,” with smaller amounts of explosives and less noise.

The largest and most spectacular fireworks displays in the city tend to happen over the city’s harbour.

However, the councillor said it may be wiser to have smaller events with less height and less accompanying noise.

He also said that unannounced neighbourhood fireworks are particularly difficult for veterans, as they’re less able to adjust their schedules to avoid them.

“I’m in favour of looking at it. I think it would be a humane thing to do.”

However, Brazeau said in a telephone interview from his Toronto office that “quiet fireworks” is a misconception.

He said pyrotechnics — most often used for rock concerts and sports events — still can create whistles, screams and banging noises.

The special effects go off at ground level or slightly above the ground, and “tend to be quieter that way,” he said. “However, you’re still going to get a bang in order to propel it into the air.”

Fireworks generally come from China and are a fraction of the cost of U.S.-manufactured pyrotechnics, he added. He estimates a fireworks show that might cost a city $10,000 to $20,000, while pyrotechnics would be $40,000 to $60,000.

He argues that the key is to give the public ample notice of a coming fireworks display in order to allow people to take measures to avoid the noise.

Tyson Bowen, a former Canadian soldier who is setting up a farm in Nova Scotia where recovering veterans can heal their PTSD, said veterans don’t universally react badly to fireworks.

“Each individual’s trauma varies. Some are sensitive to noise, some are sensitive to quiet and silence,” said Bowen, the founder of Real Canadian Recreation.

Quiet can trigger memories of the silence that comes before a military attack, he said.

Some veterans still enjoy recreational shooting, while others are affected by the bang of a car door, he said.

“Still, it’s nice to see it being talked about,” he said, “and that it’s being understood that there are veterans that deal with this …. especially when the fireworks are not known in advance.”

He said in his own case, fireworks can be a trigger to remind him of Afghan experiences, but he has coping mechanisms he’s developed for those occasions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020.

National Post

by Xrayxservice Sat 21 May 2022, 9:14 pm

Victoria Day ignites debate over fireworks' effects on animals, PTSD victims

Published May 21, 2022

Massive firework displays have long been a mainstay for Victoria Day as a way to end the May long weekend with a bang. But not all Canadians are looking forward to these celebrations, with concerns over the fireworks' impact on pets, wildlife and people with PTSD.

In Nova Scotia, retired veterinarian Hugh Chisholm has been advocating for a provincial ban on recreational fireworks. He's one of the organizers of a petition that has garnered nearly 15,000 signatures on Change.org.

"I don't want to be a curmudgeon that sits here and says, 'You can't have fun,'" Chisholm told CTV News Atlantic last week. "The problem is that fun comes at a cost to others."

Many dog and cat owners have observed their pet hiding in fear whenever the sound of fireworks can be heard. There have even been stories of pets going missing after being spooked by fireworks and running away.

But for owners of livestock, the consequences can be even more dire. Chisholm's petition was launched after a horse in Canning, N.S. broke its leg after panicking upon hearing New Year's Eve fireworks. With the leg injured beyond repair, the horse had to be put down.

"Triggering such panic in livestock can also result in devastating financial loss due to veterinary bills, animal death and human inability to work because of injury sustained while trying to handle panicking animals," the petition states.

Fireworks can also cause significant disruptions for wildlife, particularly birds. A 2011 study found that after a firework display for New Year's Eve in the Netherlands, thousands of birds fled "en mass." Researchers say these panicked flights can lead to loss of energy, disorientation, reduction of food intake upon relocation to an unfamiliar foraging site and even weakened immune functions.

"We estimate that hundreds of thousands of birds in the Netherlands take flight due to fireworks," the researchers said.

And in the U.K., British media outlets and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported last November that a terrified deer had smashed off its own antlers after fleeing the sounds of fireworks.

The loud noises and smell of smoke from the fireworks can also trigger post-traumatic stress disorder among combat veterans as well as survivors of gun violence, according to the U.S. National Center for PTSD. In a survey conducted by Veterans Affairs Canada in 2013 among veterans released from service from 1998 to 2012, 13.1 per cent of respondents reported having PTSD.

FIREWORK ALTERNATIVES
At Banff National Park, home to many protected species, the towns of Banff and Canmore in Alberta switched to using low-noise, low-altitude fireworks in 2018 in order to minimize the impact on the wildlife.

Drone displays involving anywhere between 20 to upwards of 2,000 LED-equipped unmanned aerial vehicles have also been growing in popularity as an alternative to fireworks. In the U.S. several communities on the California-Nevada border are planning on switching to drone shows for their July 4 fireworks this year ahead of wildfire season.

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