The biggest news here in China is undoubtedly the milk scandal which can't seem to stop growing - you know, you never realize how much you use dairy products until the prospect of kidney stones keep you from ingesting anything white. Hidden under all those headlines, though, was a fire in the Shenzhen, a large city near Hong Kong in the south of China. Apparently one of the performers at a local nightclub lit a firework on stage which caught something in the ceiling on fire and triggered mass chaos. Sadly, this small act of indiscretion took the lives of 43 people.
Anyway, the reason it even crossed my mind today was because of something that happened at one of the many weddings we've attended this month. Towards the end of the "ceremony" a set of four or five fireworks set up around the stage were set off to the sound of blissful wedding music and the happy couple hugging. It was a dramatic scene, for sure, but I won't lie - I was looking for the nearest exit. Besides the fact that this was all done on a carpeted floor, the low ceilings were covered in decorative lace and not a single person running the show looked like they were old enough to light a cigarette, much less fireworks.
Oh, and don't worry about us oxygen-breathing human beings in the room. That gas cloud emitted by the fireworks was less than pleasant, but the free gas mask provided as a party favor were nice. Wait, no gas masks? Sure would have been a good idea along with a couple of fire extinguishers, I believe. Obviously someone didn't think this through entirely. I'm sure (or at least I hope) that this was against some city ordinance or law, but there won't be anybody to stop them. I just hope that news of what happened in Shenzhen will make people stop and consider the safety of their friends and family before shooting off balls of fire at their wedding.
If it can't be done safely at a night club where it's at least understandable to find pyrotechnics, who in their right mind thinks it can be done safely at a wedding?
1 Comment:
it can, of course, be done safely by trained professionals. if the folks whose weddings you're attending were too cheap to hire such professionals, it's their fault - not that of the industry or pyrotechnics in general.
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