Harsher punishments should be handed down to people caught manufacturing fireworks illegally in order to ensure they think twice before embarking on this potentially lethal pass time, the secretary of the Malta Pyrotechnics Association, Joe Theuma, said.
Having been involved in fireworks for the past 45 years, Mr Theuma told The Times he felt "disgusted" at those amateurs who put their lives and those of others in danger by manufacturing fireworks without a licence.
"Most people involved in fireworks are serious people who operate according to law but there is that small percentage who are doing all the harm... Something must be done to deter this practice and the punishments should be increased," he said.
The Explosives Ordinance lays down that no person shall introduce into Malta gunpowder or other explosives or establish or keep any gunpowder factory or fireworks factory without a licence. The law also stipulates that no person shall manufacture gunpowder or carry out any process of such manufacture except at a licensed gunpowder factory.
Anyone found guilty of these offences is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine ranging between €46.59 (Lm20) and €465.87 (Lm200).
A Mellieħa man was yesterday fined €465 (Lm200) when he admitted to illegally manufacturing fireworks in an unlicensed factory in the limits of Mellieħa. A Gozitan was fined €209 (Lm89.72) after the police found petards in his truck, which was confiscated by the court.
These were two of six men arraigned in connection with the illegal possession of fireworks explosives since the March 12 Naxxar explosion that killed two people and demolished several houses. Since then, the police have been receiving phone calls reporting explosive material being stored illegally.
Mr Theuma believes there is a lot to be done to improve the situation insofar as fireworks are concerned. He highlighted the need to better educate licensed manufacturers, especially with regard to health and safety.
Explosives expert Colonel Albert Camilleri explained that, throughout his career, he had diffused hundreds of high-calibre bombs "but what I fear most are these fireworks because the material is very sensitive and is produced by amateurs".
Over the years he had come across quite a lot of cases where fireworks were being manufactured illegally. However, there was no way of determining the magnitude of the situation.
"You only come across them through anonymous calls," Col. Camilleri said, mentioning as examples the recent police finds that were sparked off by calls following the Naxxar tragedy.
Public concern on the illegal manufacture of fireworks was rekindled abruptly after the Naxxar blast took the life of 35-year-old Sina Sammut, a mother of two.
The other casualty was 47-year-old Paul Camilleri, in whose garage the explosion is believed to have occurred.
Col. Camilleri feared that the public's resolve to calling the police about illegal activity would fizzle out in time as it has done in the past, only to return when some other tragedy occurred.
The March 12 Naxxar explosion reignited calls to tighten regulations governing the fireworks industry that remained without the regulatory team of experts proposed to the government in a report by the Pyrotechnics Commission (on improvements to fireworks factory safety) released last December.
Speaking to The Times a few days after the Naxxar blast, the newly-appointed Minister of Justice and Home Affairs, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said he intended taking a thorough look at the fireworks industry and introduce significant changes.
Meanwhile, the police are urging anyone who has information about illegal fireworks activity to call on telephone number 119.