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01.08.2011, 23:52
|  | Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Samstagern
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| | Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
I have just seen from a distance what appears to be some unlucky sod's building catching fire.
It is in the hills towards Wollerau and feusisburg I can see flames licking high into the air from a structure that is far too big to be a man made fire and it started too late for such.
Due to sub-standard voyeuristic and espionage equipment I can't make out exactly what and where it is... anyone near this area know anything?
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02.08.2011, 09:45
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
Ive always been amazed with these fireworks and the lack of safety. Ive see first hand the damage they can do. buddy of mine shot one and it somehow show up his shorts (big arrow ones that explode) the burns were VERY big and scars for life.
Last night I saw people shooting them from the balcony barely missing the ceiling.....and the big fire ones next to the curtains.....thats not even looking at the kids shooting them at eachother...
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02.08.2011, 10:01
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
I am afraid stupidity is everywhere and people can be as careless with fireworks as they can be with vehicles or gardening tools. Granted, fireworks are more prone to backfire than gardening tools, but I feel the "lack of safety" you mention is not "their" fault. My 7 year old insisted on buying fireworks, and I indulged him as long as he promised to follow my instructions to stay clear while I lit them.
We had fun last night for some 30min. in our garden, with the assorted bag of fireworks we bought, quite safely, making sure we point straight up and the burnt-up pieces didn't land on someone else's roof or car. We managed to collect some 75% of the rockets we fired from our own backyard.
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02.08.2011, 10:10
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
I've seen flames here before, a couple years back, and the next morning saw the charred up small building on a hillside. They renovated it right away, though, it's a club house for boy scouts now. But never in all my years have I seen anywhere such carelessness with fireworks!
We do fireworks back home at New years, every family does their own and many people wear safety goggles now and actually go to wide open areas like community soccer fields, empty parking lots or some such plot of land to play with fire. I've also seen fireworks on holiday in several other countries and again no fireworks in the crowds, no fireworks in balconies, no fireworks in the woods... | 
02.08.2011, 10:14
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
Yeah, right.
I remember back in Holland once also a building went up in flames due to 'fireworks'. It was the storage warehouse of a big shop, the shop moved to another town a month earlier. Us in the village all found it very convenient for the shop owner that his storage went up in flames....
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02.08.2011, 10:20
| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger | Quote: | |  | | | I've seen flames here before, a couple years back, and the next morning saw the charred up small building on a hillside. They renovated it right away, though, it's a club house for boy scouts now. But never in all my years have I seen anywhere such carelessness with fireworks!
We do fireworks back home at New years, every family does their own and many people wear safety goggles now and actually go to wide open areas like community soccer fields, empty parking lots or some such plot of land to play with fire. I've also seen fireworks on holiday in several other countries and again no fireworks in the crowds, no fireworks in balconies, no fireworks in the woods...  | | | | | yes, but in Switzerland the accidents are very, very rare. The over-protective issues are not issues in Switzerland because the people are more competent with what they are doing. For example, if there is construction going on around a school. There's not going to be tons of signs with "watch out, men at work"...to the Swiss it's obvious men are at work and the individual should take the necessary precautions. That's the freedoms that people have in Switzerland, and with freedom comes responsibility. Overall the Swiss are quite responsible. They don't get all emotional and frantic about things like many people from the USA or UK. People are accountable for their actions, and not running to the government to sue or solve everything for them...
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02.08.2011, 10:26
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| | Sometimes, measures of the authories go wrong
In the past week, the authorities declared that there this time would be less "noisemakers" and more real fireworks again. The basis for their forecast was that they had stiffened the rules against teenagers. The reality here around was rather the contrary. I presume two things
> many teenagers saw the restrictions as a challenge to be overcome
> many of those launchers of the "noisemakers" simply are ABOVE 20 years old anyway
So, laws and rules and regulations are no replacement for common sense
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02.08.2011, 10:41
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
I know, the noise makers as you call them are more annoying than anything. just walked to my car and guess what. old fireworks laying on top of it and all around......grrrrrrrrrrr good thing it is not my s4 anymore, otherwise..... | This user would like to thank Anthony1406 for this useful post: | | 
02.08.2011, 10:42
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger | Quote: |  | | | People are accountable for their actions, and not running to the government to sue or solve everything for them... | | | | | Amen! Die Schweiz is doing pretty good from where I'm standing....
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02.08.2011, 10:44
|  | Moddy Wellies | | Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: North Yorkshire
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| | Re: Sometimes, measures of the authories go wrong | Quote: | |  | | | > many teenagers saw the restrictions as a challenge to be overcome
> many of those launchers of the "noisemakers" simply are ABOVE 20 years old anyway | | | | | > "The fireworks they tried to ban" is a good sales pitch.
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02.08.2011, 11:39
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
I thought the same too. However, a colleague told me this morning that it is a tradition particulary in some swiss german villages that they light huge flames on top of a hill on 1st August in the dusk.
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02.08.2011, 11:41
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger | Quote: | |  | | | I thought the same too. However, a colleague told me this morning that it is a tradition particulary in some swiss german villages that they light huge flames on top of a hill on 1st August in the dusk. | | | | | yup i was told it is an old tradition to "warn the other villages back in the day before other communications....Ive been to one last year and it really is a big a** fire
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02.08.2011, 11:41
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger
I'm just off on a lunchtime hike to be nosey..I er... mean to see what's up that road.... LOL
I wonder how much the Swiss spent on fireworks last night, perhaps that will be in the paper. I shall detour via the store.
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02.08.2011, 11:44
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger | Quote: | |  | | | I thought the same too. However, a colleague told me this morning that it is a tradition particulary in some swiss german villages that they light huge flames on top of a hill on 1st August in the dusk. | | | | | Ahhh They had the big fire in the usual place from dusk, this was after the displays and burning violently
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02.08.2011, 11:48
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Roundn'about Basel
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger | Quote: | |  | | | I'm just off on a lunchtime hike to be nosey..I er... mean to see what's up that road.... LOL
I wonder how much the Swiss spent on fireworks last night, perhaps that will be in the paper. I shall detour via the store. | | | | | Don't forget photos... ah... all in the name of good reporting... you see...
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02.08.2011, 11:55
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| | Re: Not so Happy Swiss National day for one unlucky b*gger | Quote: | |  | | | I thought the same too. However, a colleague told me this morning that it is a tradition particulary in some swiss german villages that they light huge flames on top of a hill on 1st August in the dusk. | | | | | Yes, this, at least in the past, also was done in quarters of Zürich, and of course in the towns and villages and on top of the hills and mountains around Zürich. The heaps of material used were some 2 or 3 meters high. Usually done by the "Quartierverein" and assisted by somebody of the Fire-Brigade.
************************************************** *********************** | Quote: | |  | | | Ahhh They had the big fire in the usual place from dusk, this was after the displays and burning violently | | | | | Whatever, I on the Internet checked in Zürichsee-Zeitung and in the March-Zeitung. Nothing reported anywhere. Any bad fire would have been reported widely.
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Last edited by Wollishofener; 02.08.2011 at 12:20.
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