Kids get rocket

By Tania Martin
POLICE fear the use of illegal fireworks will cause serious fires in the Dandenong Ranges this summer.
Sergeant Alan Fincher of Monbulk police said fireworks can not only cause serious injuries, but can be very dangerous in the lead up to the fire season.
This warning comes after police caught a number of youths in Monbulk on Friday, 6 October with a bag full of fireworks shortly after 8.15pm.
Sgt Fincher said the fireworks confiscated by police were only meant for use by licensed operators, and if not used properly have the potential to cause serious injury.
He said setting off fireworks in hot weather could also be disastrous.
“We are going into one of the worst fire seasons ever and using fireworks in the hot conditions we are starting to see is irresponsible,” he said.
Sgt Fincher said if fireworks are set off in rural areas or near residential properties not only is there a risk of fire or personal injury, but livestock and pets can be affected.
Graeme Armstrong, Country Fire Authority (CFA) Region 13 operations manager, said the risk of using fireworks is not limited to brushfires but can cause serious injury.
“Fireworks are an inherently dangerous products and it is not just fire danger that people have to look out for,” he said.
Sgt Fincher said this is not the first police have heard of fireworks being used in the area because there has been several reports of loud explosions in the past six months.
Monbulk woman Lill Seamer, 80, has experienced first hand how frightening loud explosions can be.
She was given a fright several months ago when a loud explosion went off one night.
Ms Seamer said she initially thought her gas tank had exploded but later found out that it was fireworks.
Her son, Mark, who lives on the same property, came running to her assistance when the explosion went off.
“It’s lucky I had just put my coffee down when it went off because I got such a fright I just fell forward in my chair,” she said.
“I thought my gas tank had blown-up and was ready to vacate.”
Ms Seamer, who has a heart condition, said she was shaking for the rest of the night.
The next day she went to the doctor and was told the explosion had shaken her nervous system.
Sgt Fincher warns that people caught with illegal fireworks can face hefty fines and possibly imprisonment.
This warning comes as volunteer firefighters battled fires across the state last week as temperatures sky rocketed to 36.5 degrees.