If you are displaying to the general public, you have a legal responsibility for their safety. In this section we'll go through some extra considerations for a public display. Please note that this is not intended to be an exhaustive guide and there may be additional extra legal responsibilities not covered here.

The main consideration with a public display is that if there is an accident, you could be held liable for it. You need to protect yourself against this by taking out insurance. This is a must for any display involving the public.

You should be aware that times have changed somewhat and people tend to consider legal action or claim compensation for the slightest thing. Insurance will protect you against this.

Insurance costs have risen sharply in recent years and for many one-off displays the premium now represents a significant burden. But it simply is not worth the risk of displaying in public without it.

If you are a member of a club or association, check to see if existing policies will cover you. Also if you are displaying on behalf of someone else (school, local authority, club etc.) see if their policies can cover you.

You are responsible for the safety of your spectators!

Competence, and proof of this, is becoming another issue with amateur displayers. If you are not a professional, some insurers may require that you are "trained". This is somewhat of a grey area with nonprofessionals since there is no legal requirement to be trained to use category two and three fireworks.

If you find yourself in this position, we recommend that you seek clarification from your insurer as to what constitutes proof of competence in their case. You should find that it simply means attending one of many courses run by firework companies and retailers. In cases like these your insurer is simply trying to ensure that you do have some training to use fireworks.

It goes without saying of course that training is always useful in any case if you intend displaying to the public.

Please note that if you are NOT a professional displayer, ie. you do not display fireworks for a living, have licensed divisional storage and full insurance, then no amount of training will qualify you to buy and use professional fireworks such as aerial shells.

Your relationship with the event and with your firing crew might have further implications that you need to consider. For example, if you are being paid to fire a display and you are paying your firers from this fee, you could be classed as an employer and are legally responsible for your firers' health and safety.

We're not trying to put you off but with public displays and where you might be considered as an employer to your firing team, you need to ensure you comply with the law. Your insurance company might hang you out to dry if you don't and you could be prosecuted.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/ is the official Health and Safety website and you can use this to find information about your responsibilities or to find contact details for people who can help. You should start by defining your role with the display and the relationship with your firers and then find out what your legal responsibilities (if any) are.

At the time of writing we contacted the HSE with a fictitious scenario that I was providing the fireworks for a public display as a one off, that I was not a firework company, but I was being paid to provide the fireworks and in turn was paying firers (also as a one off) to help. Their opinion in this case was that all the normal laws would apply. I asked if the same would apply if I was not being paid. Their guidance was that "The Health & Safety at work act 1974 and subsidiary legislation covers firework displays which involves a work activity (ie where at least one person will be involved on a professional basis)".

The important issue here is the definition of professional and this should not be confused with the term "professional" in firework terms which means someone who displays with cat 4. Regarding whether an unpaid display would be classed as professional is something the HSE suggested that I query with our local authority enforcement officer who would look into the specific display.

Please, take these issues seriously. You will find that the HSE and your local authority are an excellent (and free) source of help. It only takes a few phone calls to find out where you stand legally.

Crowd control is an issue with any display and even more so with a public one. Are you aware of your liabilities in these areas? For example, how many spectators is it safe to allow into the viewing area and how many marshals do you need to control them? In the event of an accident what is your plan to get the spectators to safety? Be sure to clarify these points with the event organiser before you commit to a display.

Unless you particularly want to take the job on, we recommend leaving the crowd issues to trained marshals.

Although serious incidents are very rare, you need to consider the worst case scenario. In the event of an accident the crowd will need to be moved quickly and safely. How will you communicate any problems to the marshals and how will they contact you? Please, take some time before the display to clarify these points.

Most marshals and stewards use walkie talkies and these can be purchased relatively cheaply (they are a good investment in any case). This is normally the best way for everyone to keep in touch.

You might want to consider getting it put in writing that the organiser or venue is responsible for crowd control and not you.

Your safety areas need to be well defined. It is very important that you agree on who will mark these areas. In large open fields hundreds of meters of perimeter marking will be required. Many venues will be happy to do this for you if you show them your spectator and safety areas. But, clarify this well ahead of the display because if these areas cannot be marked, you will not be able to fire. If you need to provide any poles, rope or tape, this can create a big extra expense and require some additional time/labour on the day.

If you need to mark any of your own perimeters make sure
you have enough equipment (and time) to do it!

Marking your safety areas is only half of the job of course - keeping an eye on these areas and dealing with anyone who comes across the safety line is the other half. If you are setting up during the day you will get the occasional inquisitive member of the public having a nose and of course expect various other people involved in the event or venue to come across and see you.

Never, ever, leave your fireworks or site unattended at any point from the moment you arrive to the moment you have cleared everything away.

Safety barriers should be taken down last, once all the cleaning up has been completed and the site is deemed safe.

Here is some more advice. This is not an exhaustive list and you can find much more help in our main safety section:

	It is important for public displays that the local police and fire service are advised of the display.
	A public display can create an enormous amount of pressure on you to fire but never fall into the "show must go on" mentality. ONLY fire if it is safe to do so. If the weather conditions are too severe, if there are crowd issues, or any other problem that might put you or the crowd at risk, don't fire.
	If you are being paid to display, consider the issue of cancellation in your planning stages with respect to whether the organiser will pay you something anyway for your time. Does your insurance cover this eventuality too?
	Set up a clear organisation structure with defined roles. For example agree on a specific site contact and someone in charge in case of emergencies.
	Although display fireworks are rated as 25m spectator distance, we recommend more for a public display (eg. 50m). This allows for safe fall out if any goes the wrong way. In fact most bigger display fireworks look better viewed further back. Our safety section has much more information on how to set up your fireworks properly.
	Make sure clear up well afterwards. It's worth popping back the next day to check that the site is clear and tidy. Cleaning up isn't just a safety issue - if you leave the site clean you're more likely to be invited back.

We hope that you have found the information in this section useful and wish you a safe and enjoyable display. Don't forget to read our extensive safety section for help setting up and firing your display.

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