Risk assessment - fireworks

Luckily, the fun police haven’t completely ruled out the possibility of hosting a firework party for your staff. But if you want to hold one, how do you control the risks? Our template risk assessment will help.

Preparation

Clearly there’s a potential danger in letting off fireworks, so holding a party isn’t something to be taken lightly. However, the good news is that there’s plenty of practical advice available to make your evening safe.

In drawing up this template risk assessment we’ve referred to HSE guidance “Organising a firework display”. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with this before tailoring and signing off your assessment. It can be found at https://www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/fireworks/using.htm. It’s also worthwhile having a look at the fireworks code which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/my-safety-fireworks.

Using the assessment

Our risk assessment is split into four sections. The first three cover the selection, storage and firing of fireworks. The final short section covers sparklers.

The sections on fireworks include advice on the classes of firework which are suitable for amateur use, deciding on safety zones, preparing for emergencies etc.

It’s essential that your risk assessment reflects the actual circumstances of your event, so make sure that you adapt it accordingly.