Fireworks Guide | Become a fireworks expert

Type of fireworks: Air Bombs

Just that. Lots of thumps and bangs from these aerial pieces which, because of reclassification from Category 3 to Category 4, are no longer available to the general public.

Type of fireworks: Barrage or Cake

Fast becoming the most popular of all the single fireworks on offer: noise, drama, spectacle – it’s all here. Some emit lots of smaller shots, some providing a spectacle of shots which themselves dissolve into multi-crackling effects in mid-air. They can create spectacular and long-lasting effects from a single ignition while minimising safety concerns. In the UK, the reclassification of aerial shells to Category 4 has popularised cakes as a method for achieving similar effects while staying within safety guidelines, particularly by firing multiple shots at the same time.

Type of fireworks: Catherine Wheel

As a garden firework this usually consists of a tube wound into a flat spiral, nailed to a post. The firework spins rapidly after being lit. Larger wheels consist of one or more drivers on a radial spoke and often have added effects.

Type of fireworks: Fan Barrage

These project their effects laterally as well as vertically. Most attractive!

Type of fireworks: Fountains and Candles

Spectacle without the bangs: ideal for long lasting colour and to provide entertainment for the very young with no scary noises.

Type of fireworks: Maroon

A firework which produces a single loud report, often used to announce the start or end of a display. An aerial maroon is a shell, and a signal maroon rocket.

Type of fireworks: Mine

Like a shell a mine is fired from a mortar, but bursts near the ground producing a stunning column of stars and noise effects.

Type of fireworks: Portfire

A long thin tube which burns with a bright flame, used to ignite other fireworks.

Type of fireworks: Rockets

The traditional ‘attention-getter’. Available in packs from as little as £5 for five mini-rockets through to large singles, which have double release effects.

Type of fireworks: Shell

A shell is a sphere or cylinder of papier mache or plastic which contains stars and a bursting charge, together with a fuse. It is fired into the air from a tube. The time the fuse takes determines the height above the ground at which the shell will burst, igniting and spreading the stars.

Type of fireworks: Stars

These are the bright burning objects you see ejected from Roman candles, shells, mines etc. and are made from a special chemical composition which has been formed into pellets.

Type of fireworks: Strobe

A cluster of slowly descending bright silvery lights, twinkling on and off – a constituent in many cakes and barrages.

Firework Categories

Category 1 (“Indoor”) fireworks are for use in extremely restricted areas.
Category 2 (“Garden”) fireworks are for use by the public in their gardens. They must be safely viewable from 5 – 15 meters away as specified on the firework.
Category 3 (“Display”) fireworks are for use by the public in larger displays. They must be safely viewable from 25 meters away.
Category 4 (“Professional”) fireworks are for sale only to fireworks professionals.

Type Of Fireworks Guide

Types Of Fireworks Online Fireworks Guide