Just a reminder:

[JoSlicknuts]

Do you soak your cakes after using them? I never did in many years of shooting fireworks. This year we got done hand lighting about 40-50 cakes at a friends house on a lake and decided to wait until the morning to pick up the trash. We lit the last cake at about 10:00 p.m. and watched the local display while enjoying a few bevvies. At 2:00 a.m. (yes, we were still up) we noticed a cake started on fire and was spitting flames about two to three feet high. After filling a bunch of buckets of water and running down to where the cakes were (right by the lake) I noticed it was the 9 shot American Heritage by Cutting Edge box that was ablaze. If we would have thrown it in the garbage, it might have been a problem. We were in full view of the cakes the entire time, so it flared up almost 4 hours after it was lit. So....just a reminder to soak your cakes before tossing them in the trash, especially if the trash is in a garage or other structure.

[PYRODAN]

I had 5 cakes catch fire after the show this year. One about an hour after we put out the fires and poured water over anything that looked like it was smoldering. Next year everything gets doused with water after the show.

[Mattp]

Thanks for the heads up... a few years ago i had a similar issue..and luckily it was also before everyone left or went to bed.. so we noticed it, but could've easily been a bad situation. .. ever since i soak em asap after cleaning... most cakes also say right on it "may reignite, soak them after use" .. good advice!!!!

[MtnViewPyro]

Indeed. Had a 500 gram cake burn all the way through the plywood and to the ground after my show this year. Luckily, it was on my finale board so I didn't have to stop the show to run and put it out. I believe the cause of the cake catching fire was due to me running fuse on the side of the cake. The same identical 3 cakes beside it did fine and the fuse was running on the board instead.

[rkmcdon]

2 hours after my show, we looked over (display was on the other side of a privacy fence) to find a cake in flames that were easily 3 foot tall. Next year, everything gets doused

[Stormcrow]

I had two ablaze. one zipper and one 500. I don't douse every cake but do on any that are still cooking. I clean up next day. Only 355 days to go.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Now that you mention it, this is the first year I didn't have a cake catch fire. Last year I had two that just wouldn't go out no matter how much water I put on them. I generally leave the cakes in place overnight and clean up the next day. So if anything catches fire it will burn itself out before I get to it in the morning.

[djsmurf]

Also a good time to bring up waiting 30 min to clear a shoot site. Had a cake not fire (on e-match) during the finale of a show. Took a break to wait for cool down. Roughly 20 min later the cake went, no fires it just decided the timing was right. We enjoyed it, however had that been pulled and placed in a vehicle or trailer right away it would have been an entirely different story.

[kingsixx]

After my shows, I usually wait about 20-30 mins then I go and do a check of the cakes/racks to see if everything went off and if anything is smoldering. If I think that something may be a bit too warm, I will soak it down with my garden hose. Then I leave everything out overnight and then clean it up the next day. That way, even if I miss something, the only thing that its going to do is it will burn itself down since its all out in the open already. Seems as though some cakes (particularly Z cakes) run hotter than others.

[adultuser]

Thanks JoS. Very good point. I'm in Rick's camp and always leave my stuff out til next day, but in dry spells, I'm not going to take the risk anymore.

[Pyro Paul]

Being that I have an acre of back yard and there is nothing closer than 250 feet away, I always make sure the area I'm going to do fireworks in has no danger of grass fire or set out sprinklers to water the grass days prior to the shoot to be sure there will not be a grass fire. The cakes and mortar racks are either glued/screwed to plywood or staked. I do a walk thru about 20 min after the finale finishes and check around the shoot site for any duds that might be laying around and to see what fired/did not fire and douse anything burning/smoldering with water. Once I clear the site, my sons fire off any artillery shells and/or cakes that still have a fuse (their fun time) while I say my goodbyes and help people load chairs/coolers and direct traffic. The next morning I walk out and claim any unfired product during cleanup to disassemble and fire at my leisure for my amusement or experimentation and set it in front of my shop building. I usually box this stuff up towards the end of the day after all the cleanup has been done and spent cakes are boxed up to set out for trash day. A friend of mine who lives in the city, soaks everything with his garden hose immediately following the last shot and bags up all the loose paper/cardboard shreds in his culdesac. Depending on your situation, the method may be different. Just take the time to look around while you are planning and choose the proper way to make the area safe during setup, firing and cleanup. An ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure.

[PYRODAN]

I remove all the mods that night, and clean up the next day. we just burn everything.