It is the Northern Territory’s annual celebration of self-government, marked by the detonation of hundreds of tonnes of fireworks. But emergency services have urged caution ahead of the day of celebration, and a veteran of the Vietnam War says being surrounded by exploding fireworks can impact those living with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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00:00The sound of the Territory's beloved cracker night.
00:10On Monday, tonnes of fireworks will be let off in the Territory's streets, on the beaches
00:15and in backyards.
00:16But for Kevin, a veteran of the Vietnam War, he'll be spending cracker night indoors, away
00:23from the noise.
00:24I can't go to bed, I've got to stay at home and just lock the house up and turn the TV
00:29up loud and sit there and watch TV.
00:32My wife and all the kids, they go out and look at it, but I can't go.
00:36While his family enjoy the sights and sounds of cracker night, Kevin says it can be a nerve
00:41wracking experience for people who've been through war.
00:44I just get very jumpy and nervous and sort of keep looking around, you know, it's hard
00:53to explain.
00:54For those who do want to get involved, emergency services have some fairly straightforward
00:59advice.
01:00Do the right thing, follow the instructions, use the fireworks as they're intended, don't
01:04use them as missiles and point them at each other, don't hold them in your hand when they're
01:07not meant to be held.
01:08You know, that's when you see the injuries to hands, digits, fingers blown off, etcetera
01:13over the years.
01:14While others will be standing up to volunteer with their local fire crews in what can be
01:19one of the busiest nights of the year.
01:21In the Top End we'll have a number of our volunteers who are giving up their cracker
01:25night to serve the community and they'll be based all over the Top End.
01:30Celebrations in Alice Springs could be dampened by forecasts of weekend rainfall, but drier
01:35conditions in the Top End Tuesday and Wednesday could have fire crews on alert beyond the
01:40public holiday.
01:41Most of our problems happen in the two days that follow cracker night, so we respond to
01:48the same number of calls over those two days.
01:51Whether Territorians heed the advice of emergency crews or pay attention to the wellbeing of
01:56their neighbours is up in the air.