Ban On Chinese Lanterns

[emmie]

wonder if some agree, i do think they are dangerous, as proved by this fire.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/jul/01/smethwick-fire-chinese-lanterns-banned

[boxtops]

Down here on the coast, we'd ban them but for another reason - they sail out to sea, and the lifeboat has gone out on several occasions as they are easily confused with distress signal flares.

[emmie]

confess that i wouldn't have thought of that, how dangerous.

[themorrigan]

Ridiculous things, they should be banned and hefty fines imposed on those people that flaunt it.

[tonyav]

Yes they should be banned imo em. Yesterday it was like driving through mist for me in one particular area on my way to work ( West Bromwich ). What if it had been an housing estate instead of the recycling factory !.

[Gromit]

I am not disagreeing with you, but fireworks have caused far more fires over the years. Two years ago, fireworks caused the M5 motorway pile up which killed 7 people and injured 51. I don't remember a call for fireworks to be banned after that far more serious incident.

I am amazed the recycling depot was not covered with netting, our council run one is. And the fire brigade said there had been 15 other fires at these sites in the last two years, which makes one suspect that they are not very well run.

[emmie]

i was watching the news earlier, it was on a celebration, not sure what exactly, in Poland, and there were thousands of the things being let go, what a nightmare for aircraft...

[tonyav]

Gromit, it is not a council run recycling centre.

em, West Brom and its surrounding areas are swarming with Poles.

[weecalf]

are the supposed to for fun or what ,97.000 pound fine for using them dating back to 2001

[AlwaysConfused]

Chinese lanterns are a pain in the arse. After the initial 'what the hell is that', and realising it's not a UFO (feeling rather stupid, I have been convinced before!), the thought has to go to where they land. I have had to beat one out of a tree before. Dangerous.

[LazyGun]

I had not really considered the negative impacts they represent until now - I just thought they were pretty and an endless source of amusement over UFO sightings etc :)

We regulate fireworks largely for public health and safety concerns - perhaps chinese lanterns should be included in such regulation?

[boxtops]

We did have an amazing event down here a few weeks back, 300 lanterns were set off in memory of a lad who was murdered (but that was known about in advance)

But otherwise - why put a flame in the sky, and send it soaring who knows where?

[Gromit]

// Chief fire officer Vij Randeniya said it was the 15th fire at a waste recycling site in the West Midlands this year and said he was calling for a meeting with plant operators. //

These plants should not be located near to residential or urban populations. They themselves are the ticking timebombs.

[EDDIE51]

A ban would be nearly impossible to implement. The number of fires caused by Lanterns is miniscule compared to those caused by smoking /barbeques/ fireworks etc.

[naomi24]

The problem with Chinese Lanterns is once they're released they are subject to the elements, so there is no control whatsoever over where they might come to ground. Like fireworks, they're not the best things to have around a thatched roof!

[LazyGun]

Eddie makes a good point. Most things are relative.

Although I cannot think of many instances of a BBQ causing major fire risks and multi-million pound damage to an area though :)

[Gromit]

Tonyav

I know it was a private site, which is why I was comparing it to local authority ones which have nets to prevent such an occurrance as yesterdays.

// West Brom and its surrounding areas are swarming with Poles. //
Ignoring the obvious racist conotations of that statement, the letting off of lanterns is not confined to poles, they are let off by everybody.

[Old_Geezer]

I have NEVER understood why they were allowed or why folk couldn't see the danger and so felt it ok to indulge the pretty lights in the sky experience. I have always thought it proved how society is not that intelligent. Leads me to despair of my fellow man sometimes. To actually need to be told that flying arson is not a good idea: beggars belief.

[tonyav]

Like fireworks, they're not the best things to have around a thatched roof!

A nightmare for farmers to, naomi.

[Old_Geezer]

I take the point re traditional fireworks, but at least they are localised. And why add further dangers to the one we already tolerate ?