After our general advice in the previous section we now look specifically at firing each type of firework from cakes and candles through to rockets, wheels and sparklers.

Thank you to The Firework Store for their kind sponsorship of this section so that we can continue to offer this valuable information free to all our visitors.

Remove any weatherproofing you put on top of the firework, locate the fuse (which should have been extended from the body during setting up) and light at arm's length.

This illustration shows how to light a cake, candle, mine or fountain:
At arm's length, with a portfire in a gloved hand.

WRONG! Forget it - any breeze will hamper the flame and
your hand is too close. Use a portfire in a gloved hand.

Ensure the fuse cover and any waterproofing that might hinder the firework is removed prior to lighting. You do not need to remove clingfilm etc from the top of cakes, the first shot will blast it away.

View from an actual firer's helmet - thanks to a wireless camera - showing
a cake being lit at arm's length with a portfire in a gloved hand.

Lighting a cake : 857kb Windows Media. View from a firer's helmet showing a cake being lit with a portfire.

Move away quickly to a safe distance after you light the firework. Firers will be wearing protective clothing and do not need to observe the same safety distance as spectators but use your common sense. Do not stand too close. Never return to a firework once it has been lit.

Remember that mortar mines literally explode upwards in one go. Once the fuse is lit, there is no warning. Be prepared.

A powerful mortar mine. A firer is shown to the bottom
left of it (wearing a red helmet) for scale! These are
very, very powerful - take care.

These instructions assume you have set the firework out correctly. Please refer to the setting up section if you have not already done so.

Ensure the plastic fuse cover on most rockets is removed prior to lighting. Check that the rocket is free to rise from the tube and will not topple over. Light the fuse at arm's length.

Lighting a rocket the correct way: At arm's length with a portfire.

Move away quickly. Some rockets "pause" briefly between the fuse burning and the rocket taking off. This is normal.

WRONG! If you cannot immediately see what is wrong here, don't worry.
Many inexperienced firers are caught out by this at some point - the fuse
cover is STILL ON. Easy mistake to make in the dark if you have lots of
rockets but potentially very dangerous as the fuse underneath might
ignite and you do not know it. CHECK first, with EVERY rocket.

WRONG! The position of the fuse on rockets means lighting them like this invariably
leads to that annoying BURNT THUMB when the fuse ignites. That's when you finally succeed
in lighting it after minutes of messing around in the slight breeze that makes life difficult
with a lighter. So please use a PORTFIRE: problem solved.

WRONG! Two really bad ideas. On the left, launching a rocket from a
bottle. Very unstable, very risky, very dangerous. On the right, a rocket
stuck straight in the ground. Similarly risky and dangerous. Use a tube!

Keep an eye on your rockets during your display to ensure they are falling in the fall out zone and not going anywhere they should not. If you have more than one firers it is worth having one person in charge of the rockets. It is also worth keeping your rockets at the very back of the display area and separate from the other fireworks.

Always move away quickly to a safe distance after you light the fuse. Although rockets go off in air, there is always a small risk of malfunction and an explosion in the tube or at low level. Ensure you're a safe distance away in case of this.

Remove any weatherproofing you placed on the firework and locate the fuse. Light it at arms length. In the case of wheels, do a final check that they spin OK before lighting them.

Oh dear. A firer looks on at his STUCK WHEEL. Prevention is better than cure
here. Always make sure the wheel spins OK before you light it.

Move away quickly. Some set pieces hiss loudly when they start as their internal quick fuse burns, this is normal. However make sure you light the correct fuse on set pieces.

Items such as "Goodnight" should be the last firework. Be careful of lighting big or long lasting cakes at the same time, these can over run the "Goodnight" and continue on afterwards, causing much audience confusion. Light Goodnight just as the last main fireworks are coming to an end.

The danger of sparklers comes through underestimating their potential to burn and expecting that all children will be responsible. It's no coincidence that the only firework given directly to children is one of the leading causes of firework accidents.

Always ensure they are held in a gloved hand, and lit at arms length preferably with a portfire.

Using a sparkler correctly - at arm's length in a GLOVED hand.

	Always supervise children with sparklers. Never let them run around with them, poke other children with them, wave them around in faces etc. Never give them to children under five.
	Never use sparklers near other fireworks. If you're worried, lightsticks make a safe alternative.
	Sparklers remain red hot after use and should be disposed of in a bucket of water or sand. Don't dispose of them on the ground, in a flower bed, or the dustbin while they are hot.
	Someone will always want to draw shapes in the air. Make sure this is done with plenty of space around them.
	Never use sparklers indoors (unless they are indoor sparklers designed for that purpose). The smoke from them is extremely unpleasant!
	Never use sparklers to light other fireworks.

We know that the warnings about sparklers can get so boring, especially if you assume they're one of the safest fireworks. But the truth is, ignorance accounts for the majority of accidents. People simply do not realise how HOT these get, or that they remain hot after use; that's when people get burnt.

Another warning message people hear so much over Guy Fawkes that they switch off, is "Sparklers remain hot after use". Children especially have no way of knowing how hot these can stay. Let's show you HOW hot we mean:

On the left we press a finished sparkler against a plastic rocket tube.... notice no flame
but as you can see on the right, the sparkler simply cuts its way into the tube.
Imagine what that could do to skin or clothing - yes, cause a serious burn.

Always dispose of sparklers carefully, preferably in a bucket of water.

In our final firing section we take a look at what to do during the display, multiple firing, what can go wrong and more. Click here.