Silent fireworks, could they be beneficial? — Scope | Disability forum
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Silent fireworks, could they be beneficial?

Chloe_Scope
Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
edited November 2019 in Coffee lounge

Fireworks can be extremely popular during this time of year. They may look really pretty, but the loud bangs can have their implications! However, silent fireworks are starting to make an appearance which could be beneficial to a lot of people.

What are your thoughts?

We asked two people who have assistant dogs for their views:

Kate Stanford and assistance dog Spencer: "My assistance dog, Spencer, has been trained to be okay with loud noises as he is often with me at events like theatres, concerts & busy places. However, I have seen the impact fireworks can have on dogs and definitely welcome the idea of silent fireworks."
Natasha Coates and medical detection dog Ace: "Ace thankfully isn’t fazed, but my old pet dog used to be absolutely petrified. It’s bad enough just for one night but now fireworks seem to go off from Halloween to New Year!"

red and orange fireworks bursting onto a dark nights sky

Aside from it being a lot better for animals, people who struggle with loud noises could be missing out on the view of fireworks because of the loud bangs that they cause.

Do you like fireworks? What are your thoughts on silent fireworks? Is there anything else you’d suggest? Let us know in the comments below!

Scope

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Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 231 Pioneering
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    YES! I hate them and so does my dog! I'd love silent fireworks, silly people where I live let them off fairly often throughout the year for some odd reason.
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,585 Disability Gamechanger
    I think the noise is part of the experience tbh...it's one of the very few times I find the sensory overload positive.  I usually hate loud noises but do like a fireworks display once or twice a year.  I also hate fire, to the point I cant even light a candle, but the sight and sound of a massive controlled bonfire ripping through hundreds of pallets really is mesmerising. :)

    I think the main issue is the fact they're publicly accessible and can be let off at any time...  If they were just kept to organised displays they'd be easier to avoid for those that don't like them.  Keeping dogs indoors with windows and curtains shut, and the TV or radio on, can keep them calm for example, but you need to know exactly when they're going to be in order to do that.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    edited October 2019
    They are let off willy nilly at all times of the day where I live, it's having a big impact on my dog, she's already quite anxious. If they were kept to just displays then I wouldn't have a massive problem with it because I could prepare her, but they aren't.
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2019
    Thank you everyone for your thoughts! It's definitely down to personal preference and that's okay. :)
    Scope

  • pollyanna1052
    pollyanna1052 Community member Posts: 2,032 Disability Gamechanger

    Fireworks can be extremely popular during this time of year. They may look really pretty, but the loud bangs can have their implications! However, silent fireworks are starting to make an appearance which could be beneficial to a lot of people.

    What are your thoughts?

    We asked two people who have assistant dogs for their views:

    Kate Stanford and assistance dog Spencer: "My assistance dog, Spencer, has been trained to be okay with loud noises as he is often with me at events like theatres, concerts & busy places. However, I have seen the impact fireworks can have on dogs and definitely welcome the idea of silent fireworks."
    Natasha Coates and medical detection dog Ace: "Ace thankfully isn’t fazed, but my old pet dog used to be absolutely petrified. It’s bad enough just for one night but now fireworks seem to go off from Halloween to New Year!"

    red and orange fireworks bursting onto a dark nights sky.

    Aside from it being a lot better for animals, people who struggle with loud noises could be missing out on the view of fireworks because of the loud bangs that they cause.

    Do you like fireworks? What are your thoughts on silent fireworks? Is there anything else you’d suggest? Let us know in the comments below!


    As children, we always went to organised firework displays put on by the Army. They were brill. I don't like fireworks to be sold  to just anyone now. I saw a great display in Blackpool last month. It was well organised and the public were safely kept out of the way. I imagine silent fireworks would be good for those who fear the loud noises...animals too. My own little poodle doesn't like them, although she is kept indoors.
  • April2018mom
    April2018mom Posts: 2,882 Disability Gamechanger
    I took my son and daughter to a local fireworks display two years ago. That was a bad idea as they were too little to appreciate. What are silent fireworks? Are they like sparklers? This year we are having our own fireworks display with sparklers only on Saturday night instead. As a child, I grew up with sparklers. I love watching the loud fireworks from my bedroom window.  
  • Ails
    Ails Community member Posts: 2,256 Disability Gamechanger
    This is interesting as I didn't realise that you could get silent fireworks.  Fireworks are really pretty and I always enjoyed watching them at firework displays when I was a child, but they get let off for weeks after Guy Fawkes night where we live and you begin to get fed up with hearing them after a while.  Our cat is terrified and goes to hide under the bed when she hears them and that's after she has had calming pills from the vet!  So I would definitely welcome silent fireworks as many poor pets have to suffer that night.  
    Winner of the Scope New Volunteer Award 2019.   :)
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @April2018mom, silent fireworks are the same as normal ones, but they don't have the loud bang.

    Thank you for sharing this @Ails, I am sorry about your cat, they really can become so frightened. :(
    Scope

  • Ails
    Ails Community member Posts: 2,256 Disability Gamechanger
    Thanks @Chloe_Scope, she is a nervous wee thing at the best of times!  : :open_mouth:
    Winner of the Scope New Volunteer Award 2019.   :)
  • WhileIBreathIHope
    WhileIBreathIHope Posts: 216 Pioneering
    If it isn’t setting off car alarms, then they are feeble fireworks.
    would be like watching fireworks on YouTube with sound on mute.
  • Jean Eveleigh
    Jean Eveleigh Scope Member Posts: 183 Pioneering
    I like fireworks but one of my dogs is terrified of them BUT we should also think of people with autism and other sensory processing conditions and also people with PTSD from serving in the armed forces or the gun violence that is increasing in our communities and what loud fireworks are doing to them - I really feel that as quieter/silent fireworks are now a reality (https://epicfireworks.com/quiet-fireworks) they should be the only ones on sale to the general public and the louder ones only for large scale public displays which are always preformed in less populated areas and advertised so people can take appropriate action to avoid them.

  • pollyanna1052
    pollyanna1052 Community member Posts: 2,032 Disability Gamechanger
    After last night`s experience, I will be hoping more people use silent fireworks......our little poodle, Sophie aged 4, went missing. She never goes out into our garden alone.
    Hubby couldn't find her in the house... over an hour later, we found her cowering right underneath our beds. First look there didn't spot her. Poor little girl. The fireworks going off locally were VERY loud!



  • Bettahm
    Bettahm Community member Posts: 1,439 Disability Gamechanger
    I think fireworks should not be on sale to the general public at all, and only organized displays allowed. 
    If everybody knew when an event was going to take place we could keep our pets in and safe.
    My neighbourhoods had fireworks going off since Halloween, and we'll probably have them for about another week now. Then more at Christmas and New Year. Money up in smoke!
    Read another post here about the noise level and autistic people, and I agree with that 100%, only I'm autistic and its 'little' noises that get to me - if that makes sense. 
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Thank you for this @Jean Eveleigh, very insightful and would make perfect sense!

    Oh bless her @pollyanna1052! I hope she is doing okay today!

    I completely agree with you @Franstrahan, thank you for sharing this with us all.
    Scope

  • Topkitten
    Topkitten Community member Posts: 1,285 Pioneering
    I am beginning to believe that political correctness may actually bring the human race to and end. Gradually, everything traditional or belonging to the past is being destroyed. Using fireworks was intended as an adult pursuit to please children and it was up to individual adults to decide what was an acceptable level for the children they are trying to entertain. I understand that pets do not like the noise and I have had dogs and cats in the past and it was MY responsibility to protect them and not to punish EVERYONE because a minority do not want to make the effort for themselves. However, PC attitudes now seem to make it necessary for the minority groups to control what the majority groups can and cannot do.

    This is one of many complaints I have with current society but I won't post them here and risk spawning tangential arguments.

    Why can people who are in the minority not accept the responsibility for themselves in order for the majority to have a fun time?

    TK
    "I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell" - from Wrong side of heaven by Five Finger Death Punch.
  • pollyanna1052
    pollyanna1052 Community member Posts: 2,032 Disability Gamechanger
    Topkitten said:
    I am beginning to believe that political correctness may actually bring the human race to and end. Gradually, everything traditional or belonging to the past is being destroyed. Using fireworks was intended as an adult pursuit to please children and it was up to individual adults to decide what was an acceptable level for the children they are trying to entertain. I understand that pets do not like the noise and I have had dogs and cats in the past and it was MY responsibility to protect them and not to punish EVERYONE because a minority do not want to make the effort for themselves. However, PC attitudes now seem to make it necessary for the minority groups to control what the majority groups can and cannot do.

    This is one of many complaints I have with current society but I won't post them here and risk spawning tangential arguments.

    Why can people who are in the minority not accept the responsibility for themselves in order for the majority to have a fun time?

    TK

    Hi, just to reply to your question `why can people who are in the minority not accept the responsibility for themselves in order for the majority to have a fun time?`

    Regarding my little dog`s upset over the weekend with very loud fireworks...I do take responsibility in keeping her indoors, soothed by my voice and cuddles. But I cannot remove an inbuilt fear she has of ridiculously loud noises caused by fireworks. She panted and shook so much that I was afraid she may have a fit, as a previous pet of mine did.
  • Topkitten
    Topkitten Community member Posts: 1,285 Pioneering
    Topkitten said:
    I am beginning to believe that political correctness may actually bring the human race to and end. Gradually, everything traditional or belonging to the past is being destroyed. Using fireworks was intended as an adult pursuit to please children and it was up to individual adults to decide what was an acceptable level for the children they are trying to entertain. I understand that pets do not like the noise and I have had dogs and cats in the past and it was MY responsibility to protect them and not to punish EVERYONE because a minority do not want to make the effort for themselves. However, PC attitudes now seem to make it necessary for the minority groups to control what the majority groups can and cannot do.

    This is one of many complaints I have with current society but I won't post them here and risk spawning tangential arguments.

    Why can people who are in the minority not accept the responsibility for themselves in order for the majority to have a fun time?

    TK

    Hi, just to reply to your question `why can people who are in the minority not accept the responsibility for themselves in order for the majority to have a fun time?`

    Regarding my little dog`s upset over the weekend with very loud fireworks...I do take responsibility in keeping her indoors, soothed by my voice and cuddles. But I cannot remove an inbuilt fear she has of ridiculously loud noises caused by fireworks. She panted and shook so much that I was afraid she may have a fit, as a previous pet of mine did.

    The situation is now far less noisy than it was when I was younger and almost every back garden had fireworks going off. Fireworks now are also much less noisy than they used to be and most people go to displays than let them off themselves. And yet, more people than ever complain about noise. We live in a human society, not an animal one and I used to take responsibility for protecting the cats and dogs I had in the past to make sure that they suffered as little as possible even though someone nearby was letting fireworks off close by every day for a week or more. However, I never coddled them the way people seem to now and they were literally tougher and less frightened then than now. I certainly would never have complained about my neighbors having their own fun with fireworks with their family. People were far more important then than it appears they are now. We seem to be living in a society where animal welfare is more important the people's welfare and I am just glad that I probably won't be around long enough to see things get worse still. One advantage to being old I guess.

    TK
    "I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell" - from Wrong side of heaven by Five Finger Death Punch.
  • Ro_venables
    Ro_venables Community member Posts: 1 Listener
    I’m Someone with PTSD so fireworks give me flashbacks and trigger panic attacks. My assistance dog is great with fireworks but I wish they weren’t available to the public, only for set shows and businesses
  • Bettahm
    Bettahm Community member Posts: 1,439 Disability Gamechanger
    Ro Venables:
    Agree 100%. Organized displays only for fireworks. That respects everybody I think. Those that like can pay to go and watch a local display. Those that dont like have advance warning and can take necessary precautions.

Brightness