Explosion hazards of fireworks and chemicals

Brown eyes with makeup, protected by safety goggles.

There are strict safety regulations for handling explosives and dangerous substances in Finland. This helps to reduce the risk of explosions.

Explosions usually occur for the following reasons:

  • neglect of safety regulations
  • carelessness or incorrect handling
  • equipment or system malfunctions, such as power outages or mechanical faults
  • natural phenomena: even though it is not as common, but lightning strikes, for example, can cause explosions if they hit highly flammable materials
  • deliberate acts: sabotage or deliberate criminal acts

Do you recognise the hazard pictograms for chemicals?

Hazard pictograms are diamond-shaped, and they have a black symbol on a white background and a red frame.

Hazard pictograms for chemicals

Many devices and substances that can be found from home can cause an explosion or a fire hazard if they are mishandled or damaged.

  • Batteries, lithium-ion batteries in particular, may overheat and explode. Lithium-ion batteries can be found every home: in phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, drills, electric bicycles etc.
  • Chemicals, such as cleaning agents and fertilisers, can react to one another or other substances and cause an explosion hazard.
  • Electrical appliances, especially faulty or incorrectly used electrical appliances, may cause a fire if they overheat.
  • Gas equipment, such as gas stoves and grills, may lead to explosions if they leak.
  • Aerosols, such as hairspray or other pressurised aerosol containers, may explode at high temperatures or if punctured.

Never replace the original packaging with something else.

Firecrackers in one hand and a lighter with a flame in the other.

When is it permitted to use fireworks?

  • As a rule, fireworks can be used on New Year’s Eve from six hours before midnight to two hours after it as well as with a separate declaration to local rescue authorities in the place of intended use.
  • In some areas fireworks are also allowed, for example, at the end of the summer at the so-called closing parties for the season (huvilakauden päättäjäiset).
  • Information about permitted times of use can be found in your municipality’s regulations or by asking your local rescue department or police.

Source: Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes)

The closer a person is to where an explosion happens. the worse the injuries caused by the blast pressure will be. The eardrums are most susceptible to damage from pressure.

Boulders and debris hurled by the pressure of an explosion are extremely dangerous to unprotected people.

An explosion produces heat that causes burns and fires.

Fireworks may not be set off even during the permitted times of use in the following cases:

  • if the firework is not intact
  • if the fuse of the firework is not clearly visible
  • if the fuse is wet and does not ignite properly
  • if you are not exactly sure how the product is used
  • if you are under-aged
  • if you don’t have safety goggles
  • if you are drunk

Source: Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes)

Are you allowed to fire distress rockets for entertainment?

No, you are not. Unnecessary use of a distress rocket is punishable by law. Anyone who sets off a distress rocket with no good reason must reimburse the often-considerable costs incurred by the authorities because of the alarm.

Can hairspray explode?

  • Hairspray cannot explode in normal use.
  • Remember that hairspray must not be used near open fire or other heat sources.
  • Don’t spray hairspray while smoking or near an open fire.
  • Keep hairspray away from extreme heat: don’t store it near radiators or in direct sunlight, for example.
  • Don’t puncture a can of hairspray or expose it to a strong impact.
  • Don’t throw the can on the ground or handle it roughly in any other way, so that it doesn’t leak or possibly explode.

Keep toxic chemicals out of reach of small children, pets and misuse.

The film Lapua 1976 – was the explosion real?

  • The film Lapua 1976, which came out in 2023, is based on true events and tells the story of the explosion at the Lapua cartridge factory in 1976.
  • The stories of the characters in the film are dramatised – for example, the love story in the film is pure fiction – but Finland’s most destructive explosion during peacetime did really take place at the Lapua cartridge factory.
  • The massive explosion occurred when a spark from the machine used to manufacture cartridges flew into gunpowder dust. Forty people were killed and 60 people were injured in the accident.

Take action for safety – download the 112 Suomi mobile app!

Through the app, you will receive public safety alerts and notices directly to your phone. The app also provides instructions on how to prepare for various disruptions. The instructions can also be read in the app when the network connection is down, that is, in offline mode.

Download the free 112 Suomi mobile app

Instructions on how to report an emergency

  1. Call the emergency number 112.

    Only call in urgent, genuine emergencies when someone’s life, health or property or the environment is under threat or in danger. If you use the 112 mobile app, remember to make the call through the app. This way, your location information will be forwarded to the emergency response centre automatically.

     

    You can also call the emergency number 112 using a foreign mobile phone subscription. Even then there’s no need to use a country or area code: just dial 112.

  2. You can also send a text message.

    If necessary, you can also report an emergency by sending an SMS to the number +358 112.

     

    The use of emergency SMS messages is primarily reserved for individuals who cannot hear or produce speech. An emergency text message can only be sent from a pre-registered phone number. A number can be pre-registered on the Suomi.fi website.

  3. Do not call or text the emergency number in the following cases:

    if the situation is not urgent, if you have general enquiries or want to ask a question or if you are reporting a disturbance where no one is in danger.

     

    Source: Suomi.fi