- 1. Explode 30 lbs. of loose Firework Composition in a Shed, another Shed being 10 yards distant. Screen between.
- 2. Explode 30 lbs. of Composition in Fireworks in a Shed, another Shed being 10 yards distant. Screen between.
- 3. Ignite a Box of ¼ cwt. of mixed Ordinary Fireworks in open air.
- 4. Ditto ditto ditto in contact with another Box of ditto.
- 5. Place a Box of ¼ cwt. of ditto in a bonfire.
- 6. No. 3 repeated, with mixed Fireworks bought over the Counter.
- 7. No. 4 ditto ditto.
- 8. No. 5 ditto ditto.
- 9. Hammer various sorts of Fireworks—Wood on Wood.
- 10. Ditto ditto Wood on Iron.
- 11. Ditto ditto Iron on Iron.
- 12. Run a Railway Truck over some of the different sorts.
- 13. Repeat such of above as may seem necessary with “Parlour Fireworks.”
V. D. MAJENDIE, Captain R. A.,
H.M.’s Inspector of Gunpowder Works, &c.
CHAPTER VIII
MODERN FIREWORK MANUFACTURE
Fireworks are now manufactured under the Explosives Act of 1875 and Orders in Council No. 2 and No. 4 under that Act.
Order in Council No. 4 deals with small Firework Factories, the total contents of which, either finished or in course of construction, do not exceed 500 lbs. This class of factory presents little of interest for consideration; and is governed by practically the same rules as are the larger establishments of the kind, with such modifications as are justified by the small quantity of explosive material involved.
Order in Council No. 2 sets out the general rules to be observed in factories licensed under the Act, the leading points of which are as follows:
The absence of iron or steel in any workshop, carriage, or boat; cleanliness and absence of grit; care as to material liable to spontaneous ignition; provision of lightning conductors on magazines; tools and implements to be of soft metal; working clothes without pockets; shoes without nails; searching or means to prevent the introduction of matches or dangerous substances into the works; materials and finished work to be removed from working buildings and not allowed to accumulate when any particular process is completed; no person under sixteen years to be employed or enter any danger building. Every building to be provided with a set of these rules, and a statement of the quantities of explosives and ingredients, and the work to be carried on in it as allowed by the license.
The modern factory is generally situated in a rural district on account of the fact that it is more easy to observe the statutary distances from protected works. Protected works referred to in the Act include other workshops and magazines in the factory, and also dwelling-houses, factories, institutions, railways, highways, and various undertakings and buildings, the distances to be observed varying with the nature of the protected work from public highways to palaces or houses of residence of the King, his heirs and successors. In some cases, as with private dwelling-houses, the distance to be observed is about half, if the consent of the occupier to the erection of the factory building or magazine is obtained.
Firework factories, in fact all explosive factories, are constructed on the principle of limiting the scope and effect of any explosion that may take place to the smallest possible quantity of material and to the smallest possible risk to human life.