By Mitchell Clarke
A Pakenham woman, whose pet dog was struck by a car and left to die after he escaped the house during illegal fireworks, is pleading for the community to forgo the fizzle show.
Petra Chapman’s beloved pup Arlo was just four-years-old when he was found dead on New Year’s Day.
It’s believed “beautiful” Arlo was spooked by an illegal New Year’s Eve display within the vicinity of Army Road and Kennedy Road.
“I spent the night driving and walking everywhere I could think he’d have gone, screaming out his name,” Ms Chapman explained.
“My poor Arlo was so scared. I eventually found him the following morning on Pakenham Gembrook Road after he had tried to flee Pakenham to get away from the fireworks everywhere.
“Sadly he had been struck by a car and left to die by the side of the road. His loss has affected my daughters and myself terribly.”
The illegal show wasn’t reported to local police, who confirmed they weren’t aware of “any incidents in the area involving illegal fireworks over the holiday period”.
But Ms Chapman said it would have been hard for a patrol car to miss the long display. She claims the use of illegal fireworks “has never been dealt with”.
“The fireworks continued spasmodically until minutes before midnight when the town seemed to light up with fireworks from every direction,” she said.
“The first lot of fireworks to be set off were the ones that scared my beautiful boy Arlo. They were just after 8.30pm and were from Kennedy Road.”
Victoria Police say fireworks pose a “major health and safety risk” to the community and can only be used by pyrotechnicians.
Using fireworks during the summer months also pose their own risk, with the potential to cause fires.
But it appears the message is getting through to the community, according to WorkSafe, who said there have been no fireworks-related human fatalities in Victoria since 2016.
In 2020, WorkSafe confiscated 1270 individual fireworks that have been handed in or seized by Victoria Police, significantly less compared to more than 7000 in 2019.
Still, in the past five years, firefighters have responded to more than 120 fireworks incidents, Fire Rescue Victoria’s fire safety deputy commissioner Michelle Young said.
“Many of these emergencies resulted in severe injuries, significant damage to property, and even disruptions to the public transport network,” D/C Young said.
“Fireworks are dangerous, unpredictable and volatile items that can result in fires, including grassfires and bushfires, as well as cause property damage, serious burns and even death.”
Anyone caught using fireworks without a licence can face criminal charges including jail for up to 15 years and thousands of dollars’ worth of fines.
