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By Matthew Vella
The night sky will be set alight this summer with the island’s regular display of fireworks, but in the aftermath of the Gharghur factory tragedy, where five men lost their lives in the worst ever fireworks explosion of its kind, the safety of Malta’s pyrotechnics industry still appears suspended in mid-air.
Earlier this week, Malta’s parish chaplains expressed sympathy with the families of the fatalities in the explosion of the Ta’ Xwieki quarry in Gharghur, noting that “similar tragedies were occurring almost every year”.
But limiting the use of fireworks for the parish feasts – a mainstay of local festivities – does not appear to be on the cards, as confirmed by Fr Joe Cordina, the secretary of the College of Chaplains from the Fleurs-de-Lys parish.
“Our appeal is for the authorities to meet up and discuss the issue of safety,” Fr Cordina told MaltaToday. “We find no scope in calling for a curb in the use of fireworks in the feasts.”
But fireworks factories, and the pyrotechnicians who form an integral part of parish life, are intimately related to Church festas – most of the fireworks are prepared for the celebration of parish saints, and the induction of firework manufacturers happens through parish groups.
Even the law governing fireworks is centred around the organisation of parish feasts – the time slots are described according to the traditional movements of the Maltese festa. There are 20 minutes of displays allowed at the removal of the statue from the niche on the eve of the feast, another 20 minutes at the end of the religious function (barka) and for the Sanctus on the day of the feast, and one hour of daylight fireworks for the evening service.
Although fireworks manufacturers have to be certified by the government to work in factories, the skills for the production of fireworks are usually acquired by enthusiasts and beginners who are not even certified to enter the factories.
Doubts on whether the authorities are equipped to conduct regular check-ups were shed when it was revealed that the Explosives Committee, formed by explosives experts from the army, police and Civil Protection Department, did not have an inspections unit to carry out spot-checks on Malta’s fireworks factories.
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