Although it is an old Chinese tradition to set off firecrackers and fireworks at midnight to scare away evil spirits and celebrate the coming of the new year, firework and firecracker celebrations are banned in Shenzhen out of safety considerations.
The Shenzhen Municipal Emergency Management Bureau released a notice last December to ban illegal sales, storage and transportation of firecrackers and fireworks, as well as setting off fireworks in the city.
Citizens are encouraged to report illegal behaviors to police stations, market supervision authorities, emergency management bureaus and urban management authorities in each district and Dapeng New Area.
According to the notice, violators will be fined 2,000 yuan (US$295) and put under administrative detention for up to 15 days. Moreover, violators will be held liable if their actions seriously violate the criminal law.
The balcony of an apartment located at the Hengguan Hao-yuan residential compound in Futian District was seen on fire Wednesday night. Luckily, no one was in the apartment when the incident happened, and the fire was extinguished immediately.
According to the notice released by the emergency management office of Fubao Subdistrict where the compound is located, the fire was likely caused by fireworks set off by people from the square in the housing estate.
Similar fires caused by fireworks were also seen across the country recently.
Several children reportedly set off fireworks that triggered a fire at ventilation pipelines in Zhongtang Town, Dongguan recently.
On Jan. 2, citizens set off firecrackers near a square in Shaanxi Province. The spark dropped on a billboard that eventually caused a fire.
It is also worth noticing that popular “cold fireworks,” a form of pyrotechnic entertainment that doesn’t produce smoke and is not hot, can still reach temperatures of up to 800 degrees Celsius.
Under this circumstance, the fireworks might burn the skin and even clothes, if they are ignited close enough, media reports said. Sometimes, they will even cause fires if there are hay or flammable objects nearby.