indoor fireworks

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what is it about fireworks that is so intriguing ?
son decided to light some small ones ( fireworks) in his room.....next thing i know i've got every fire alarm going off in the house, and a house full of smoke............will i ever survive his adolescence ?

I don't know, but fireworks are fun (and the best ones are illegal where I live, so we play with thermite and plastic army men. [I am 18, and am a wee bit of an amateur metallurgist/pyro]) As far as his adolescence, I think the bigger concern is you not killing him! LOL.

Just about everything is legal here. Go ahead ask me how I know

Because my friends have snuck fireworks out of your state

That is terrible! I forget how old he is, but I can't stand seeing people under 18 with them where we live. You have to be 18 to buy them and the laws are pretty strict, (the sellers uphold them and card people). I just can't imagine who in their right mind gives minors fireworks! Again, if your son is of a legal age, I guess there is even less you can do about his getting his hands on them! luckally it sounds like no one got hurt, hopefully he learned a lesson... Not to light them indoors!

he's not of legal age, and the local store sold them to him................haven't had a chance to address this with them yet , but i will.
thanks for the replies.

One thing you have to admit, Ster, is that life with these kids is never dull. Hope the damage was minimal and the discipline was comensurate with the crime. Do encourage him to use all incendiaries out of doors though. Remind me to tell you, sometime, about a boy I knew who boiled gasoline, true story.

If you get through his adolesence then there will be hop for Me and Z.

I was at an Asperger's/Autism specialist bookstore a couple of months ago. It is run by a family - all but 1 have Asperger's so I love chatting with them - I always get insight into why my son does certain things.

Anyway, I was stressed out this particular day and the lady at the store said, 'Just you wait until he's a teenager, that's a difficult time!'

Aaaargh! I thought!

Fireworks today! What will tomorrow bring? Not boredom that's for sure.

thanks ! .....he's still cleaning up from the mess...........amazing how fire extinguisher spray gets just about everywhere !
Corsarzs~ boiling gasoline ? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA......glad son hasn't thought of that one yet.

Flaming wax fireball, enough said. That' is the only one I've done indoors. Yes, I am a pyro, and I have paid for it before. I set my hair on fire while gas-welding .

Mine was making "comets" out of tissue paper and lighting them on the stove because my mother kept all matches wlell hidden or locked up tight. Did get a trip to the ER and treatment for second and third degree burns to the back of my neck.

I'm convinced, after 14 years as a Scout leader, that all males are inherently pyromaniacs. Dancing flames still fascinate me, though I've learned to keep them under control.

Hope this doesn't discourage you too much, Ster!

i don't mind him being fascinated with fire as long as its under parental supervision, under control, and outside !
hubby is just learning to weld, and we both know how to do blacksmithing so hopefully son will join us with that.....we've also set up the backyard with an outdoor firepit & told him that he can have a fire as long as there's an adult home who's aware that he's building a fire.

I was a pyro, I burnt my mothers goose down jacket camping when I was 8.

In grade 8 my teacher showed us how you could light alcohol on fire, and after the burn, it would leave a water residue behind. I thought this would be a good topic for further study at home.

I went home, my mother was at work. I looked for a substance first, I settled on nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol. I dumped it on our kitchen counter just like my teacher did, and then threw a match at it! The flames went skyhigh and scorched the cupboards! Luckally it went up in a flash and did not actually ignight anything!

I should have stopped. Instead I decided to take my "experiment" to the basement, because it had a concrete floor, would be much safer.

I proceeded to light up the mixuture a few more times safely. Then something happend, and I accidently lit a paper on fire! It was really burning, so I did a very brave thing thinking "I need to contain this fire". I grabbed it and threw it into a near by garbage can. Problem was, the garbage can was made out of plastic and full of bounce sheets! As the flames where shooting out of it, I decided to grab ahold of it, and RUN it to the laundry tub, as I sprinted with my burning bucket to water, it was melting dripping plastic all over some painted doors my mother had been working on in the basement! I got it into the laundry tub, I turned on the water, and finally, the fire was out!

I cleaned up as best I could, and did a pretty good job. Aired out the house, and then mother came home. She did not know anything was up, until she went to the basement and found the remnants of her garbage can in the sink and plastic dripped all over her doors!

That was one time that I know she had the right to become histarical on me! Maybe I am the source of her mental issues. I was a difficult child!

earthcalling~ oh my ! !! !! !! !! !! !!
hubby quite enjoys fire himself & has recently taken up smelting metal too~ made a homemade furnace of sorts & has been working with son on this....at this point, i just want son to make it through the next few years without anymore big time trouble....might be asking too much, but i can hope

I am dreading the 4th of July. My 14 yr old son with AS is so excited about it, he is counting down the days.

The day before yesterday (while I was in the shower), he created a flamethrower using gasoline and caught the side of the house on fire. I found out about it because he was trying to clean the scorch marks off of the siding. He later complained to me that all of the fire extinguishers were empty and that I should do something about it.

I'm a single mom and I am seriously thinking that I need to send him to his dad's house for the 4th. I can't handle this Pyro stuff. I'm terrified that one day, he truly will burn the house down.

The lesson, he learned from his "accident", was that we needed to keep fresh fire-extinguishers handy; not that he shouldn't play with gasoline; not that flamethrowers are dangerous. He has been seriously attracted to fire for years now. Whenever I mention my fear to a guy (even the psychologist), I get the answer "Oh, boys will be boys. All teenager boys are like that." I don't know if this is true and I am just over-reacting, but I think this is a serious problem!

The 4th of July is his favorite holiday (more than Christmas). It is my worst holiday. I absolutely hate having to deal with a Pyro on the 4th of July!

Specifically to Ster and SandySue, I was wondering whether your sons have ever had the chance to actually play with fire in a controlled manor?

Echoing what Corsarzs has said, I have been a member of the Scout association for 15 years, and through the various activities have had the chance to use, understand and respect fire. It is worth getting them somewhere where they can experience it in a safe environment and learn the respect it deserves. Scouting and Fire Cadets (cadets for the fire service) come to mind, but I don't know if you have these available in your respective countries/areas.
Having a scientific understanding of the temperatures and processes involved may also affect my perception of fire, as I studied A-level chemistry (everyone who does chemistry beyond the basic level is a pyro! even did a few basic explosives)
Burning petrol (I believe thats the same as gasoline) in an uncontrolled manor is highly dangerous due to the sheer volatility of it. It can lead to some very explosive and unpleasant situations. Hearing stories about people 'shrinkwrapped' in tents and blinded by exploding gas cylinders really puts you off messing with fire in a disrespectful way. Seeing the burns caused by flashing volatile liquids (in this case meths up a poor lads arm) definitely makes you give respect.

Have you considered showing them pictures of what happens if things go wrong? or taking them to the fire station to hear some stories?