Chinese lantern safety warning

FIRE chiefs are warning Hop-tu-Naa and Bonfire night revellers about the dangers posed by Chinese lanterns.

The lanterns which are available in the Isle of Man are generally made of paper, supported by a frame and are powered by a solid fuel burner.

They have become popular over the past few years for celebrations such as weddings and birthdays. But there have been a number of incidents in the UK when the sky lanterns have caused injury and fires.

In one case, a young boy was scalded in the face by molten fuel which fell from a lantern floating overhead.

Another frightening incident involved a lantern landing on the roof of a property and setting it on fire – the house was occupied by a mother and her two children.

There have been a number of reports of farm animals who have died from eating the wire frames from the lanterns which have burnt out and landed in their fields.

In 2008, Onchan’s Christmastime Festival of Light included the launch of 20 lanterns, which floated above Douglas Bay.

The UK-based Chief Fire Officers’ Association has urged Fire and Rescue Services to discourage the use of the floating paper lanterns on the basis that they constitute a fire risk when released and there is evidence of them being mistaken for distress flares, misleading aircraft and killing livestock.

Sub officer Peter Killey, of the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service’s community safety team, said: ‘No one wants to be a killjoy but we are very concerned that before long we are going to have a serious incident caused by these lanterns.

‘Whether this is a property fire, a fire in the countryside, personal injury or injury to wildlife and livestock – the more these lanterns are used the more likely it is that an incident will occur.

‘Public safety is of paramount importance and we ask members of the public and event organisers to refrain from using them.’

John Peet, chief trading standards officer, said: ‘Safety instructions for the use of these lanterns are complex. Among other things they require the user to assess wind conditions. Our advice would be to avoid these products.’

David Callister MLC, member of the Department of Infrastructure, added: ‘These lanterns can be confused with distress flares used to signal emergencies at sea.

‘This in the past has led to coastguard teams being called out to investigate, which can be very time consuming and costly.’

‘This initiative has been very successful with a marked decrease in call-outs for lantern related incidents, and our thanks go to those people who have taken the time to call the MOC prior to releasing their lanterns,’ said Mr Callister.