The second edition of a fireworks festival organised by the Southern Region in Siġġiewi was cut short on Saturday after a fierce fire broke out in a nearby valley after sparks from a petard landed there.

According to the organisers, a spark from the fireworks display landed in the valley, and as it was full of dried cane, the area was soon engulfed in flames.

The fire broke out during a show by the 14th factory of the 19 from the southern region meant to showcase their work.

“The fire engine that was on site was immediately dispatched to the area in an attempt to put out the fire,” Liz Vassallo, one of the event’s organisers, told this newspaper yesterday.

However, by the time the fire engine got there, the fire had spread deeper into the valley and another four fire engines had to be called to the scene.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Local Government.

Although nobody was hurt during the incident, Ms Vassallo said the rest of the show had to be cancelled. The police then escorted the unexploded fireworks from the remaining five factories to a nearby factory, Ms Vassallo said.

By the time the fire engine got there, the fire had spread deeper into the valley and another four fire engines had to be called

Some people who attended took to Facebook yesterday to express concern at the incident, calling for better health and safety precautions in the future. However, Ms Vassallo said that all the necessary health and safety measure were in place.

“An ambulance was present from 6pm, as was a fire engine. Without these, no permits would have been issued.

“In fact, those at the event were asking for the show to go on, but we decided not to go ahead to make sure everything was resolved safely,” she said.

Ms Vassallo said she returned to the area yesterday morning to confirm that no damage was sustained other than to the cane in the valley.