Fireworks in South Africa

[Kreasen]

Hi Guys

My name is kreasen chetty from South Africa and i have been following your youtube channel which has been invaluable to my pyro projects.

I am not a pyrotechnician by any means but an aspiring one.
Pyrotechnicians in south africa are indeed few. There are probably less than 30 in the country that are registered. Our regulations prohibit manufacturing or altering of any explosive related substances so a huge part of the art is lost.All are either conducting shows or selling consumer fireworks - a massive blow to the industry.

Pre 2003 were the golden years when just about anything was available to us. Alot has changed since the new act with manypyrotechnicians closing shop and emmigrating.

All pyros are required to be registered with the bomb squad and most have been involved with them at some point or another.

What we have going for us is that our consumer fireworks are not limited to 500 grams. The only guidelines enforced are the
1.4g and 1.3g requirement representing consumer and professional fireworks respectively. As a result, many wholesalers
have come up with means to "bend" the rules. eg. All consumer fireworks are required to have one fuse for prepared item.
A Readily prepared 4" shell in cardboard mortar with single fuse classified as 1.4g is available to the public. This can be
aquired for about R90 - about $13.Alternatively, a 3 minute finale cake can be aquired for R1800 (about $250). Massive
variety inbetween.

I am looking for unique ways to make our consumer fireworks more exciting. You have provided excellent ideas.

thank you so much

[displayfireworks1]

Thank you for commenting in the African section of this discussion forum. The four inch shell in a single shot mortar you are speaking of I believe was at one time also sold the same way in Sweden until just recently the law in Sweden changed. I would be curious about a few thinks in South Africa. Are consumer fireworks sold in separate stores that specialize in fireworks or in regular stores? Do you have restrictions on the size of firecrackers? I will assume the consumer fireworks for sale in South Africa are imported from China or is their a domestic manufacturer in Africa? In addition, what is an example of a major fireworks holiday in Africa for example in United States we celebrate our countries independence on July 4th every year. Do you have a similar fireworks holiday?
The year 2003 you speak of was also an instrumental year for change in the fireworks laws in United States, or at least the way larger 1.3 fireworks are purchased. It seems like the changes during that time in United States may have also caused change in other countries

[Kreasen]

Hi Dave. In South Africa, lighting of consumer fireworks at any given time is legal in accordance with our explosives act but some local municiplities are stricter than others and can prosecute on other laws outside of official holidays eg. disturbance of public peace or law of forseeability. We have extensive human and property laws here that protect individual interest so if you chose to light a gerb in your own yard on a sunday that is your business. A firecracker is another story as everybody knows that violent crime is rife here...

Speaking of just that, we are limited to black powder composition in our firecrackers. Pre 2003, flash powder based "bombs" were available - the loudest variety being the India King Classic Foil. It had a run of about 3 years before it and everything else that looked like it was banned - a very destructive piece of work with unsuspecting kids losing fingers and many hermits losing post boxes. Today, our loudest firecracker is a clumsy "strike / match" type called The Kings of King. It is sensibly loud with a reliable delay of about 6 seconds. It just cannot compare to the former in both sheer decibels and satisfaction of frequency. An India King will set off all car alarms on your road...

It is known to expect disturbance on 3 days in the year -
Deepavali (International Indian Religious Holiday - date changes with indian calender)
Guy Fawkes (5th November - Common Wealth acknowledgement - usually not a holiday)
New Years Eve

There are no year round dedicated fireworks stores in South Africa. All open about a month before Deepavali and are usually small general shops that are converted to fireworks stores. Licences to sell at this level are required but the law is not enforced as these shops are not permanent. There are very few wholesalers (pyrotechnicians) and they usually donot sell to consumers as it hurts an already constrained industry - I happen to be in a very fortunate position to buy from one provided I donot resell.

Manufacturing of fireworks is strictly prohibited - only mining related companies are priviledged to manufacture explosives or related substances. Commercial black powder for shooting purposes requires a black powder gun licence. All types of fireworks fuse is prohibited to consumers. All fireworks are imported. All consumer fireworks are from China and India. Professional fireworks are imported from all over the world. The quality of consumer fireworks is questioned as it is treated solely as a business here in an effort to make large profits in a short amount of time. Our retailers have more or less the same brands in every store and consumers don't know any other quality. You would be hard pressed to find people like me spending $2000 on fireworks in South Africa. In the States, I believe this is about the norm so your consumers expect the best. On the other hand, pyrotechnic shows command much higher standards. My supplier attends 3 major international shows a year which he says is expected for pyrotechnicians here.

Nowadays, inorder to import firework containers solely for consumer sales, you would need to have a fruit cocktail of permits and licences. You would also require some sort of training in explosives from a college which can only be motivated by employment with the bomb squad or recommendation buy the Chief Director of Explosives - both exercises are exhaustive, pointless and a deterent to keep this society closed off. I know 'cause I have tried :)

[displayfireworks1]

Thank you giving us your extensive explanation of fireworks in South Africa. In United States you can make fireworks without a license as long as it is for your own use and you are not selling them. However, that does not address where you will be storing them once you make them. In theory, you are to make them and use them the same day. We can freely purchase fireworks chemicals. I would imagine fireworks chemicals are restricted in South Africa. Are fireworks chemicals sold on the black market and do people secretly make their own fireworks?

[Kreasen]

surprisingly, basic firework chemicals are freely available and can even be purchased online. There are no laws prohibiting their sale. Even KCLO4 is available, orbeit very expensive. There are drugs stores, speciality shops and labs that will supply you. I am the only person I know of who attempts construction and that too is limited to black powder. There maybe kids who may fool around but noone who does it religiously - not even pyrotechnicians will risk the law.

[cynthiafireworks]

I have to bookmark this thread as this providing me with good infos about south africa.
But i still obsessed with this sentence, what's "fruit cocktail of permits"? "Nowadays, inorder to import firework containers solely for consumer sales, you would need to have a fruit cocktail of permits and licences. "

[PyroManiacs]

Fruit Cocktail means a whole lot of permits and licenses.