The B.C. tradition of setting off fireworks on Halloween night lived on for another year, although not everyone was pleased with the display.
“Out here, it was one of the worst years for it,” says Neal Cropper.
The Metchosin resident, who lives beside a gun range, says his two dogs are not fazed by the sound of gunshots; however, fireworks scare them.
Cropper tells Glacier Media he’s heard fireworks going off every Halloween for the past three decades.
"My dogs hate it,” he says. "Daisy, the little one, this takes a lot out of her. She ended up hiding under the bed. And Rosie, she picks up that energy and she gets just as bad.”
From Vancouver Island to Kelowna, fireworks burst all night long and well into the early morning hours of Halloween, with many people questioning why the displays are allowed to take place.
Animals are not the only creatures sensitive to the loud noises, according to one Surrey resident. Humans are too.
“My roommate who is very sound-sensitive... he was having a rough time,” they say. “It was going so very late. Like if it was a few or if there had been like a heads-up from the neighbours kind of thing, [that] might have been nice."
One Vancouver-based firework company says sales have skyrocketed this year "as the pandemic continues to bring people together that were not not allowed to gather during COVID."
"When asking our clients why they want fireworks to stay, they say it's for the kids," says Roy Nelson, president and CEO of Emerald City Fireworks and Pyrotechnics, pointing to Diwali and other festive holidays and significant religious celebrations, and the "different colours" and "parents that are smiling in joy to see their little ones so excited."
Nelson asks everyone to be a good neighbour when setting off the fireworks; that includes giving neighbours a warning about the display.
What's the history behind Halloween in B.C.?
According to Sabina Magliocco, a folklorist and professor of socioculture anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the tradition of setting off fireworks originated a long time ago.
"Fireworks originated in China, but by the 16th century Europeans knew how to make them because they had to learn through trade routes,” she says.
By 1605, a man named Guy Fawkes, a rebel a government resistor tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in England. He was caught and tried and sentenced to death for treason.
“Ever since then, the English have commemorated that day, the fifth of November with bonfires and setting off fireworks in commemoration of the idea that he would have blown up the Houses of Parliament, and to celebrate the fact that, in fact, [he] didn't blow up the Houses of Parliament,” says Magliocco.
Immigrants who came from England and settled in British Columbia brought that tradition with them.
“Then (they) encountered the Chinese tradition of setting off fireworks for New Year's and other celebratory occasions. And I think that the coming together of these two different settler colonial traditions led to the setting off of fireworks for Halloween,” she says.
The professor noted setting off firecrackers or fireworks is more of a 'trick.'
“Firecrackers can be part of that tradition of tricking, pranking, and generally doing things that are disruptive, and that would not be allowed at other times of year,” she says.
While Magliocco enjoys a firework display, she hopes they’re done in a way that can continue.
"I think they're beautiful and exciting and I think that cities can keep it safe. I am not a fan of random fireworks on the street,” she says. "I would like to see these traditions continue but in an organized way."
A solution to spooking animals
For years, horse-owner Nafissa Shireen has dreaded Halloween in Maple Ridge.
“Fireworks as usual on Halloween were like the war zone here. We had it starting around five o’clock and by midnight … it just goes into a big crescendo,” she says.
Her horses don’t understand that it's just one night and get spooked, she says.
“The last few years, we have had some pretty scary close calls with horses panicking and 1,000 pounds of panic is pretty scary.”
Thinking outside the box, she created a playlist with music of fireworks to get her horses acclimatized to the sounds.
“About two or three weeks ago, I just took a Bluetooth speaker, and I had it with me every time I was out there and I started at a very, very low volume. And once the horses got comfortable with that, I would raise it,” she says.
At first, the horses weren’t sold but they gradually got used to it.
She put the experiment to the test Monday night.
“All of my horses were fine. They didn't even react. I think one of them was a bit worried… but you just see them with their heads in their feed boxes, not reacting.”
Over in Duncan on Vancouver Island, the same can’t be said for Humanity for Horses Rescue and Rehab. According to a staff member, one horse was spooked on Halloween night and ran into an electric fence.
"I happened to be standing in the field when she ran through the fencing. It was a red sparkling one that triggered her to run,” the staff member told Glacier Media.
The horses have been on the property since March 2022 with zero injuries, until last Monday night.
"This horse was particularly spooked and reactive every time fireworks went off. Therefore, the conclusion is he must have spooked-whacked his head and split it wide open as a result."
Firework bans in British Columbia
Fireworks are banned in many cities and towns across B.C., although they are allowed with a permit in many places.
Const. Tania Visintin with the Vancouver Police Department says fireworks are banned in Vancouver and a permit is needed. On Halloween night, fire prevention inspectors were kept busy responding to 311 complaints regarding firework usage.
In Saanich, there were 15 calls overnight for fireworks. Fireworks were banned in Saanich this year due to a burn ban put in place by the Saanich Fire Department. In other years, fireworks can be set off, with a permit, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 31.
In Kelowna, RCMP say there is a bylaw against fireworks. There were eight firework-related calls on Halloween night, police say.
In Burnaby, Halloween fireworks are legal but only on private property and only with the permission of the property owner. The city's fire department "had a lot of calls" Monday, including for a shed and fence fire that scorched the side of a house.
Meanwhile, Nelson says banning fireworks simply doesn't work.
“Municipalities can't shoulder the heavy cost of enforcement, and moreover, purchases can be made in neighbouring municipalities or online,” he says. "Policing the sale and use has been proven in cities across the world to not work. Instead, more education on the safe sale and use is what the fireworks industry will continue to advocate for.”
Jordan Reichert, deputy leader of the Animal Protection Party of Canada, says there is a push to ban fireworks.
“When it comes to fireworks, both from a safety perspective, the frightening of their domesticated animals, concerns for wildlife and the distress it causes them, [and] the environmental concerns related to the toxic metals and the chemical reactions that take place,” he says.
It’s not just pets, but also wild animals in open spaces, like parks, or nature areas.
“It's a very traumatizing sort of experience for them,” he says. "So when we talk about cats and dogs being scared, at least we're there to comfort them, at least we're there to provide, you know, some relief in that context. But for wildlife, there is no relief. There's just fear."
He points out that it is not just one night, but normally many nights leading up to Halloween.
“What's currently in place — this piecemeal municipal program — isn't working. And we need, you know, the provincial [and] federal governments to step in and end the consumer use of fireworks,” says Reichert.
According to the Government of Canada, you do not need to be certified by Natural Resources Canada to use consumer fireworks, but you should check any municipal or provincial requirements that may guide using them based on where you live.
With files from Canadian Press
