Have a safe and happy 4th of July! That’s our message for this weekend and it is made possible by those Standards Professionals who write fireworks standards! Here in the U.S., you’ll find fireworks standards provided by NFPA (the National Fire Protection Association) and AFSL (the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory). In Europe, this topic is covered by the CEN Technical Committee 212 and ISO Technical Committee 264.
AFSL has issued the following standards:
- AFSL 101 – Standard for Combination Items
- AFSL 102 – Standard for Comets, Mines, and Shells
- AFSL 103 – Standard for Firecrackers
- AFSL 104 – Standard for Fountains
- AFSL 105 – Standard for Ground Spinners and Chasers
- AFSL 106 – Standard for Specialty Items
- AFSL 107 – Standard for Party, Trick, and Toy Smoke Devices
- AFSL 108 – Standard for Reloadable Tube Aerial Shells
- AFSL 109 – Standard for Roman Candles
- AFSL 110 – Standard for Sky Rockets, Missiles, and Helicopters
- AFSL 111 – Standard for Hand-Held Sparkling Devices
- AFSL 112 – Standard for Wheels
- AFSL 113 – Standard for Girandolas
- AFSL 114 – Standard for Crackling Strips
You’ll find these standards at the AFSL website. The publication includes all the standards plus a series of Appendices which cover general topics like the chemical that can and cannot be used, transportation regulations and so on. I admit — Every kind of fireworks goody I can think of is certainly covered here!
NFPA on the other hand provides the following 3 standards:
- NFPA 1123, Code for Fireworks Display
- NFPA 1124, Code for the Manufacture, Transportation, Storage, and Retail Sales of Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles
- NFPA PYR 1129, Standard Method of Fire Test for Covered Fuse on Consumer Fireworks
In Europe, there’s quite a number of standards on this topic. It’s easiest just to peruse the list using the ICS classification code for fireworks. Here is the link to our Document Center List of Standards on Explosives, Pyrotechnics and Fireworks. You’ll find it’s quite lengthy!
So there you have it. Lots of fireworks standards available — All developed with one thing in mind: Keeping us safe when we get the thrill of seeing those wonderful fireworks displays like those that will be happening this 4th of July! Here at Document Center Inc., we hope you and yours have a great holiday and a safe one!
