Perception of the risk of fire in rural areas linked to the use of pyrotechnic articles

Abstract

In order to reduce the risk of fire during the critical period is prohibited by law in Portugal the use of balloons and any type of rockets and in all rural areas the use of fireworks and other pyrotechnic articles is subject to prior authorisation of the respective municipality. Therefore, other types of articles started to be used in pyrotechnic shows to mitigate this risk. However, many shows were not authorised due to the perception that the chief executive of some municipalities has about the fire risk attributed to the use of pyrotechnic articles. This work aimed to understand the perception that the main entities involved in the authorisation and licensing of fireworks shows have about the fire risk during the critical period attributed to the use of pyrotechnic articles. The most relevant legislation and the study carried out by the ADAI on fire risk using pyrotechnic articles were analysed, a survey on fire risk perception were carried out to the different entities that are assigned to authorisation and licensing and the surroundings of several launching sites were analysed. It was concluded that there was a need for training and interaction between entities.