Safety and insurance: what we check, and what we won't claim

What a risk assessment for each effect actually covers

Cold spark, dry ice, CO2 and confetti are 4 different risk profiles, not one generic warning label, so each gets its own written assessment rather than a single blanket document for the whole booking. In practice that covers clearance from anything combustible, headroom under a low ceiling for a spark fountain, where the ignition source sits relative to soft furnishings and guests, ventilation for anything that displaces air (dry ice, CO2, haze), the power draw and cable run so nothing becomes a trip hazard, minimum crowd distance while the effect is live, and how long the unit needs to cool before pack-down and before guests can approach it. See cold spark machines and dancing on a cloud for what each effect involves on its own terms.

The certificate of currency

A certificate of currency confirms an operator's public liability cover is active as at a specific date, and it is standard practice for almost every South Australian venue before an outside supplier fires anything indoors. We obtain the operator's certificate and provide it to the venue for each booking as part of the paperwork described in how it works. We do not hold that policy ourselves, and we will not state a cover amount here, because that figure belongs to the operator's own certificate, not to a claim on this page. A couple should always ask to see the actual certificate before paying a deposit, and a venue coordinator is entitled to ask for the same thing before signing off.

The method statement

A method statement is the written run sheet: who fires which effect, from where, on what cue, and how the area is made safe afterwards. It goes to the venue alongside the risk assessment and the certificate of currency, before the day, which is the part described in step 4 of how it works. A venue coordinator reading it should be able to picture exactly what happens in their room without needing to ask a follow-up question.

What we will not claim

This is the section that separates an honest safety page from an industry brochure. "100 percent safe", "non-flammable", "cool to touch" and "fire-alarm friendly" are stated everywhere in this industry as absolutes, and they are manufacturer marketing lines, not something an operator can honestly promise about a device that burns a metal granule or a gas that displaces air. We will not use them that way.

There is no Australian body called Worksafe that approves products as non-pyrotechnic. An operator claiming their machine is "recognised by Worksafe as non-pyrotechnic" is repeating a line that means nothing, not citing a real approval, and we will not repeat it either. The defensible version is narrower and it is the one we use: cold spark machines are not fireworks and contain no explosive, so no South Australian pyrotechnician licence applies to them. Venue approval always does, and that is a separate question from the law.

Dry ice is not "safe in any room". CO2 is heavier than air and pools at floor level, so the space needs ventilation, and the honest question for a coordinator to ask a supplier is how the room is ventilated, not whether the effect is safe in general. Read are cold sparks safe indoors for the full explanation written for exactly that question.

The licence position, stated plainly

We do not hold a pyrotechnician licence, and nothing on this site implies otherwise. Outdoor fireworks and indoor close-proximity pyro both need one under South Australian law, and those jobs are referred to a licensed South Australian operator rather than being quietly taken on. See outdoor fireworks displays for what that referral actually involves and what it costs. Every other effect on this site runs without a licence under the current law, and effects and SA law sets out the full statutory position, licence by licence.