Ah! A DUD!
What does a fireworks dud look like?
Depending on the size, a dud will look like a burnt tennisball, softball, or larger. The larger shells usually appear slightly
deformed due to thier greater momentum upon impact with the ground. For this same reason they can be split wide open in some
cases. But either way it should resemble a burnt, somewhat spherical object. The picture above is of a 4" dud soaking in a bucket of water.
The two things you see poking out of the dud are the time fuses. Some shells have one, some have two. Most of the larger
shells will have two to ensure ignition, but from the picture we can see that that is not 100% foolproof.
So what do I do with the dud?
The law (California) states you must pick up the dud with a shovel, and immediately place it in a bucket of waiting water. As an additional safety measure,
you should mark it's location, and keep everyone away from it for at least 20 minutes. Pick up the dud when you are done striking your show to give it ample time
to cool.
What do I do with a misfire?
This ultimately depends what type of mis-fire it was. A true mis-fire, where the quickmatch has ignited and made it's way
down the gun but failed to ignite the lift charge must have the mortar filled with water to extinguish any possible burning embers
lingering around. This according to the law must be done when ever fire has taken to the device and the device failed to leave the tube.
This could include a shell within a finale chain which had the quickmatch lead blow apart during firing, thus leaving a shell or
two behind. These are most dangerous since fire was present, and could have (and does in most cases) left the paper of the quickmatch smoldering.
For this reason, I check my finale racks last when checking for misfires.
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