Yesterday, the nation heard the tragic news that fireworks had claimed yet another victim while the life of another man literally hangs in the balance by a thread.

Tragically, a fireworks factory blew up in Zurrieq leaving a father of four dead and another man in a very critical condition. Between 1997 and the first half of 2006, 14 people died and another 38 were injured in accidents caused directly or indirectly by fireworks.

Sadly, this newspaper has long campaigned for the Archbishop’s Curia and the Health and Safety Authorities to look into this practice and make it safer. Far too many people have died for the simple sake of a few loud bangs and colours in the sky at night. Yes, they are part of our tradition, yes they are part of our culture and yes, they are beautiful and an integral part of our way of life and our festas. Should they continue? Again, the answer has to be yes. But for God’s sake, make the production of fireworks safer. How many more have to die before something is finally done? We are in no way implying that there was any form of carelessness by the people who were producing fireworks and were involved in an explosion, after all, they use the same methods they have learnt and adhered to over the years.

And therein lies the inherent problem. Before Londoners learned that one of the main routes that the plague used to infect its victims was unclean sewer and river water, they used to put perfume in the air to fight off the disease. They thought they were taking the utmost in safety precautions – history, of course, tells a different story. The argument we are trying to get across is that perhaps fireworks factories might think they are handling things safely and are, very simply, not doing so. A thorough revision needs to be made of how fireworks are produced, the buildings that are used and also the way in which the fireworks are handled and stored. Malta has the second largest incident rate in Europe when it comes to fireworks, with 14.8 accidents per million inhabitants. Something is very clearly wrong. There are too many people dying and getting injured. Many might say they are prepared to take the risk. But are their wives, their mothers, their children, family and friends ready to let them take that risk? No.

The government needs to get involved in this and carry out a proper study whereby best practices for handling explosives (which is what they are at the end of the day) can be drawn up. If needs be, the government should also create some form of inspectorate (or assign someone from the OHSA) to make sure that the requirements, standards and criteria are adhered to. After all, it is people’s lives that hang in the balance. We are sure that if the relevant parties are brought together and helped in their endeavours to make fireworks production safer all round, we will see much fewer accidents taking place and claiming so many lives.