fire balloon at July 4 celebration in 1871
ray bradbury and fire balloons
The tradition
of fire balloons in the
West seems to start with
the experiments with fire/hot
air balloons in the late 18th century,In November 1782,
the Mongolfier brothers in
France invented the 'Fire Balloon'; it was three feet
in diameter, made with silk,
and held 35 cubic feet of air.
At first they flew it unpowered, but then they suspended the fire in a frame below the balloon. The brothers then developed larger manned balloons, but a parallel tradition of smaller fire balloons developed in the 19th century, and became particularly associated in the USA
with the July 4th
celebrations
The tradition of fire balloons goes far back in oriental history and still continues today.
This is a fire balloon from a present day festival in Myanmar.
The earliest reference I have found to fire balloons in Jamaica is in this advertisement in the Gleaner two days before Christmas in 1868. Mr Morris clearly hoped to attract buyers by a sale price just before the festival; he must have carried similar stock from some time before, but it was apparently not selling well.
Daily Gleaner, December 23, 1868
Daily Gleaner, December 29, 1873
Daily Gleaner, June 22, 1887
Daily Gleaner, July 16, 1885
Garden Party, Winchester Park
The Band of the 1st W. I. Regiment played repeatedly on the lawn, and materially added to the enjoyment. As the shades of evening drew on the grounds were illuminated with colored lights, Chinese lanterns, &c., and a display of fireworks closed the entertainment.
To-night there will be a much finer display of fireworks as large set pieces will be arranged and many balloons sent up.
Daily Gleaner, July 17, 1885
Later in the evening a brilliant display of fireworks was sent off, including balloons and several set pieces, and tbe visitors testified their approbation by repeated applause. This closed one of the most successful and pleasant Garden Parties which have ever taken place in this city, and the Committee deserve the warmest thanks of the residents of Kingston and vicinity for the labour bestowed on the work they undertook, especially as its object was to benefit so popular a Kingston institution as the Floral and Horticultural Show.
Celebration of
Queen Victoria's
Golden Jubilee
Daily Gleaner, February 12, 1891
Illuminating the Revels (a costume ball at King's House)
At half past nine the assembly, at the request of the Governor, moved outside, to witness a display of fireworks. This took place on the lawn immediately in front of the ballroom and was a fine and interesting sight much enjoyed by old and young alike. The explosions of the bombs and the brilliant glare, at first frightened some of the smaller children, whose sobbing mingled with the delighted "oh! oh's!" of. the older ones. Those who could not be quieted were temporarily carried away, and the remainder left to enjoy the beautiful spectacle. Two large balloons were sent off and their upward course was watched with much interest. They went straight up for some distance and then slowly sailed in a south-west direction but as the Governor remarked there seemed to be no true land breeze. The balloons finally became stars in appearance, and then disappeared altogether. Meantime one after another brilliant exhibition was taking: place on the grounds, and all forms of fireworks were shown, in bewildering succession. Now a rocket would shoot up and spread a shower of colored stars into the firmament: again a comet would fly about the grounds changing from blue to crimson and then to green, and now a weird light would light up every nook of the gardens and dazzle the eyes of the spectators.
Daily Gleaner, June 3, 1887
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 1891
Daily Gleaner, March 11, 1891
Daily Gleaner, May 10, 1937
Daily Gleaner, May 18, 1937
So far these fire balloons celebrating the Coronation of George VI in St Mary in 1937 are the last I have found.
By World War I many local authorities in the USA had started to ban fire balloons because they had a bad habit of setting alight shingle roofs, and dry grass and bush. The banning of fire balloons along with most fire works and other dangerous items continued on into the rest of the century. There was also the problem of people mistaking fire balloons for enemy air craft of various sorts during the two World Wars.
Fire ballons have, however, continued to be sent up, in varying situations. Both in the USA and Britain fire balloons have been the cause of excited calls to the authorities to report sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, which just about takes us back to where I started out!
lights in the sky
