Fireworks safety campaign launched ahead of Eid holidays

Fireworks can lead to fatalities and severe burns as well as damage to property, official warned.

A safety campaign to make people more aware of the dangers of fireworks has been launched ahead of the Eid Al Fitr celebrations

Col Essa Saeed Al Shamsi, director of weapons and explosives at the department of federal forensic police at the Ministry of Interior, said fireworks often lead to fatalities and severe burns as well as damage to property.

He added that police departments across the UAE are cooperating to prevent the use of fireworks by individuals and conduct inspection campaigns all year, especially around the time of national and religious holidays.

Col Al Shamsi noted that article 65 of federal law 5 of 2013 imposes a jail term for a maximum of 6 months and/or a fine of Dh10,000 for selling, importing, exporting and manufacturing fireworks without a permit.

He called on families to raise awareness among children about the dangers of fireworks and to notify authorities about shops or individuals selling them, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.