DUBAI // Thousands of schoolchildren have been shown the dangers of playing with fireworks as part of asafety campaign.
In Dubai Police’s Stop! Stay! Safe! campaign, more than 3,000 pupils at the Indian High School were shown a video and short play that highlighted the dangers of setting off fireworks.
Now in its third year, the campaign involved police officers and Dubai’s ambulance service visiting malls, schools and community groups to spread the message.
Charlene D’Souza, technical instructor for Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, spoke to pupils from Grades 5 to 8 t two assemblies yesterday.
“It’s very important that children are aware of the injuries they can suffer from playing with fireworks and also to know what to do in case of an emergency,” she said.
“The most common injuries we see are burns, bleeding and fractures and each has to be treated in a different way.”
For cuts, it was essential to stop the bleeding first by applying pressure to the wound and then covering it with a gauze bandage.
Minor first-degree burns should be run under cool water for about 10 minutes before a gauze bandage is loosely applied.
“Anything more serious and the emergency services should be called immediately,” she said.
“For fractures, it is important to isolate the damaged area and raise it 30 degrees above heart level.”
As well as a talk, pupils also saw a video and a play that highlighted the dangers.
Aditi Kichloo, 13, has had first-hand experience of the danger fireworks pose.
“I’ve played with small fireworks during Diwali celebrations before and had a few minor burns,” said the pupil.
“After watching the video and play I realise how lucky I’ve been and will stop playing with them from now on.
“It’s an important message to get across to people our age, that these things can be very dangerous and it’s not worth losing you eyesight for it.”
Her friend, Akshitha Unnithan, 13, was aware of the damage that fireworks can cause after watching news reports of accidents in India.
“The play was very creative in how it showed the dangers of fireworks,” she said.
“It’s definitely put me off ever going near them again and I’ll warn my family and friends about the dangers as well.”
Buvaneswari Jayasankar, also 13, was impressed at how effective the video and play was.
“It really made me think about the dangers when handling firecrackers,” she said.
“I knew a little bit about the first aid to do if someone was hurt but they provided more information, which was good.”
She admitted to having played with firecrackers but seeing how serious the injuries could be has made her reconsider.
Brig Abdullah Al Ghaithi, Dubai Police’s director of protective security and emergency said: “It is not just the fact that you can get injured using them but also the storage of these items that we are concerned about.
“The sale of fireworks to the general public is banned.” Police are focusing efforts on importers, with fines of up to Dh10,000 and six months in prison if convicted.
“It is also the storage of these items which are a concern,” he said. “We had a case three years ago where 10 tonnes of fireworks were being stored illegally in Al Qusais, which resulted in a fire and four people died.”
Ashok Kumar, chief executive of the Indian High School, said: “It is imperative that we raise awareness among young people of the dangers.”
nhanif@thenational.ae
