Diwali cracker safety tips

Before you start

• Keep a bucket of water and a bucket of sand next to where you are bursting.
• Wear cotton clothes and closed footwear. Avoid loose synthetic clothes, and tie back dupattas, sarees and long hair.
• Light crackers with a long incense stick (agarbatti), not a matchstick or lighter held close.
• Pick an open space away from parked vehicles, dry leaves, curtains, gas cylinders and anything that catches fire easily.
• Read the instructions on each box. Different crackers are lit and placed differently.

While lighting

• Light one cracker at a time, and let one person do the lighting.
• Stretch your arm out, lean away, light the wick and step back straight away.
• Never hold a cracker in your hand unless it is made to be held, like a sparkler or pencil.
• Never light a cracker inside a tin, pot or bottle to make it louder.
• Launch rockets from an empty bottle or pipe pointing straight up, away from buildings, trees, wires and people.
• Do not burst crackers from a balcony, or throw them at people or animals.

If a cracker does not go off

Never relight it and never bend over it to look. Wait at least 15 to 20 minutes, then pour water over it or drop it into the water bucket before you pick it up.

Keeping children safe

• An adult should be with children the whole time, including with sparklers.
• Show children how to hold a sparkler at arm's length, pointing away from their body and face.
• Used sparkler wires stay hot for a long time. Drop them straight into the water bucket.
• Keep unlit crackers in a closed box away from where the bursting is happening.

In apartments and gated communities

• Use the open area your society has set aside, and follow its timings.
• Stay out of parking areas, lift lobbies, staircases and corridors.
• Keep entrances and driveways clear so people, and a fire engine if needed, can get through.

Pets and elders

• Keep pets indoors in a quiet room with the windows closed and a radio or fan on. Walk dogs before it gets dark, and make sure their collar has an ID tag.
• Elders, babies and anyone with asthma or a heart condition should stay away from the smoke and the loudest crackers. Keep inhalers and regular medicines handy.

First aid for burns and eye injuries

• For a burn, hold it under cool running tap water for 20 minutes. Do not use ice, butter, toothpaste or ink.
• Take off rings, bangles or tight clothing near the burn before it swells, unless they are stuck to the skin.
• Cover the burn loosely with a clean cloth or cling film.
• See a doctor for any large or deep burn, a burn on the face, hands or private parts, or any burn on a child.
• If a spark gets in an eye, do not rub it. Rinse it gently with clean water and see a doctor straight away.

In an emergency, call 108 for an ambulance, 101 for the fire service, or 112.

After the celebrations

Collect the used crackers and leave them soaking in the water bucket overnight before throwing them away. Take a last look around for anything still smouldering, especially near vehicles and dry plants.