A loud firework that exploded over Chilliwack late Tuesday night sent many running to social media to see if anyone knew the source.
It was seen and heard by dozens of people just before 11 p.m. and several said they saw a bright flash of light in the sky.
“It was a huge firework,” reported Rob Iezzi on the Beware page, who has security cameras recording 24 hours a day on his property. “I saw it off my cameras. It lit the sky up and was very loud.”
People all over Chilliwack proper took to social media, and some reported seeing the bright light from as far away as Promontory Heights.
Kevan Siggs, a licensed senior pyrotechnician with Midnight Pyro, said it was not a family-type firework that was set off, but rather it was a professional firework shell.
“From the video I would say it was between a four-inch and six-inch shell,” he said.
Display fireworks like the one captured in Iezzi’s video are considered “high-hazard” and designed for professional use only, and regulated by Natural Resources Canada.
“You’re talking about something quite substantial, so the question would be, where would someone get it?” Siggs said.
It would be illegal for an unlicensed individual to set one off of that magnitude. There are strict regulations in place limiting the purchase to licensed and insured professionals who must obtain permission from the local fire department.
“In order to purchse them, you have to prove all the paper work in place,” said Siggs. “It’s not easily done.”
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If it’s a larger type shell for display fireworks, they can go for $100 or more, so it’s not the type of thing obtained at an illegal stand that sells firecrackers or smaller fireworks.
Setting off low-hazard family or consumer fireworks is also illegal in the City of Chilliwack.
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