FAQ retailers, pyrotechnicians, hotel & catering

The legislature provides clear guidelines for this. The powder rate contained in fireworks depends on the classification.

Exception: Rockets
The legislator limits the powder rate of rockets to 20 grams a rocket for the free sale for New Year’s Eve.

Fireworks items are classified into categories. Where possible, the categorical belonging is characterized on each item and each packing.

F1 category: smaller fireworks, e.g. table fireworks, christmas crackers, sparklers, etc.

F2 category: New Year’s Eve fireworks, e.g. rockets, volcanos, etc

F3 category: medium-sized fireworks, formerly called “garden fireworks”

F4 category: professional fireworks

If fireworks of different categories are combined to an assortment, the legal regulations for the item of the highest category count for the whole assortment.

T category: technical fireworks, pyrotechnic items for stage and theatre, e.g. bengal flames, flares, smoking bombs and powder, etc. Depending on their dangerousness, Items of the T category are divided into the T1 and T2 categories.

T1 category: fireworks for stage and theatre

T2 category: fireworks for stage and theatre

What can be purchased by whom?

Fireworks of the F1 category
can be purchased and used by persons at the minimum age of twelve years without any temporal limitation.

Fireworks of the F2 category
can only be bought during the statutory dates of sale by persons at the minimum age of 18 years, and shall exclusively be let off within the time between 31 December starting at midnight until 1 January at 12 p.m.

License holders in accordance with § 7 or § 27 or a certificate of competence in accordance with § 20 of Explosives Act can also use fireworks of the F2 category betwenn 2 January and 30 December, provided they are let off together with other pyrotechnic items.

Fireworks of the F3 category
delivery exclusively againt presentation of a license in accordance with § 7 or § 27 or a certificate of competence in accordance with § 20 of Explosives Act for the use of items of the F3 category.

Fireworks of the F4 category
delivery exclusively againt presentation of a license in accordance with § 7 or § 27 or a certificate of competence in accordance with § 20 of Explosives Act for the use of items of the F4 category.

Top right on our website you can find the button “my account” (“Mein Konto”). Click it, type in your login data – done! Welcome to our online shop!

You can request login data for our shop area either via E-Mail or via contact form. To enable our issuing the appropriate access authorization for our online shop, please send us the following documents:

In our shop you can conviently pay with the following methods:

By credit card:
Here you can choose between the leading credit card providers (Mastercard, VISA, American Express). You simply need to indicate the number and expiry period of the card as well as the credit card company. The transmission of your credit card data takes place via a secure SSL-encrypted connection. The credit card data are not stored with us. Any misapplication is therefore practically excluded. Alternatively, you can also tell us your credit card data via telephone. Within four weeks, the amount will be debited to your credit card account automatically. Cash on delivery costs are not applicable then.

By PayPal:
You can also pay with PayPal. At the end of the ordering process, you will be led to PayPal directly. Your order will be shipped as soon as we receive your payment. Cash on delivery costs are not applicable.

Payment in advance:
Of course you can also pay in advance. Delivery, however, takes a bit longer as the goods are being shipped after the payment is received. Cash on delivery costs are not applicable.

We have placed a small traffic light next to the article illustration. If the light is green, the item is sufficiently available in stock. Orange means there are only few items in stock but supplies are in the feed. Red means that the item is unfortunately already sold out for the current season.

Based on the designation “category”, a retailer or consumer can determine, which category an item belongs to.
The allocation of the identification number is effected by the central office for explosives and pyrotechnics (ZSP) in the Federal Office for Police.

I = F1 category item, posing very low risk
II = F2 category item, posing low risk
III = F3 category item, posing medium risk

The statements made here serve exclusively as general information and do not claim correctness or completeness.

Anyone who deals with fireworks or offers them for sale, requires a sales permit of the canton in which his place of business is located. Furthermore, the Association of Canton Fire Insurances (VKF) and the security police have to agree. If a retailer supplies consumers of several different cantons, he requires a written delivery permit of each of the consumers’ canton.

A sales permit can be issued to individuals domiciled in Switzerland, or to enterprises registered in the Swiss commercial register. A sales permit for retail trade is valid exclusively in the issuing canton.

The statements made here serve exclusively as general information and do not claim correctness or completeness.
For further information, you can also contact our general agent in Switzerland.

Vincenzo Fratino

Phone: +49 202 2813942
Mail: v.fratino@nico-europe.com

Natalia Rocco

Advertising in leaflets, catalogues and on the internet is allowed if the supplier has

The statements made here serve exclusively as general information and do not claim correctness or completeness.

Swiss registration numbers for pyrotechnic items for pleasure (fireworks) of the F1 – F3 category consist of the following indications:

CH-04-V01-III-0000.00 (Country-Year of registration - group - Category - number - Change of design)

Anyone wishing to import pyrotechnic items (fireworks) will generally require an import permit from the Central Office for Explosives and Pyrotechnics (for which a processing fee of at least CHF 80,- arises)

The applicant also requires a sale permit for pyrotechnic items of his canton, which is to be enclosed to the application for the import permit as a copy (exception: F1 and P3 category). Furthermore, his storage has to be accepted by the security police and the Association of Canton Fire Insurances (VKF). Items of the F4 category are subject to additional requirements.

The statements made here serve exclusively as general information and do not claim correctness or completeness.

For further information you can also contact our NICO export team:

Vincenzo Fratino

Phone: +49 202 2813942
Mail: v.fratino@nico-europe.com

Natalia Rocco

Further sources of information:

Federal Office of Police fedpol – central office for explosives and pyrotechnics
https://www.fedpol.admin.ch/fedpol/de/home/sicherheit/explosivstoffe.html

Swiss coordination office for fireworks http://www.feuerwerk-skf.ch/index.html#

The statements made here serve exclusively as general information and do not claim correctness or completeness.

For further information you can also contact our NICO export team:

Vincenzo Fratino

Phone: +49 202 2813942
Mail: v.fratino@nico-europe.com

Natalia Rocco

F1, F2 and F3 categorized fireworks exploding on the ground (exception: Lady Crackers) must not be supplied to or put into circulation on the Swiss market. In principle, exclusively items of the F1, F2 and F3 category with an approval for Switzerland may be imported. Fireworks of the F4 category requires a CE approval.

The statements made here serve exclusively as general information and do not claim correctness or completeness.

For further information you can also contact our NICO export team:

Vincenzo Fratino

Phone: +49 202 2813942
Mail: v.fratino@nico-europe.com

Natalia Rocco

Since FireFly needs 2 seconds of “charge time” per ignition, this is not possible with a single ignition module. However, if multiple FireFly ignition modules are used together, multiple channels can be fired simultaneously. You can connect up to 6 FireFlys at once. So you get up to 90 channels in total and 6 channels that can be ignite at the same moment.

Wi-Fi mesh mode will establish a connection with the primary FireFly, which is in red fire mode.
In the app, there is a settings menu in the “FireFly Plus” submenu in the upper right corner. Here you will find a Refresh button, which can be identified by a circle with arrows. Press it several times. If you add a new FireFly, you have to press the Refresh button again. All devices should now be listed in the settings.

The batteries are enough for up to 300 ignitions. Please note that excessive cold or heat may harmful affects battery life. If the device is not in use for a long time, please remove the batteries until the next use.

Do not mix used batteries with new ones or batteries with different chemical properties. Use only 1.5V D Alkaline batteries (recommended: Duracell) for this device.

No there is not. In a homemade show, the cues need to be 2 seconds apart from each other, because FireFly needs some “charge time”. The actual ignition, however, takes place at the same time as shown in the app.

If you use more than one FireFly module, several channels can be ignited at the same time or with a minimal delay apart from each other if desired.

If you lose the connection to the ignition module before ignition, the fireworks cannot be ignited. On the other hand, if the show has already been started, you can remove yourself from the Bluetooth area and the show will continue.

Warning: If you move outside the Bluetooth range, the initiation of an emergency stop is no longer possible!

FireFly harmonizes with the following Android versions:

FireFly harmonizes with every iOS device running iOS 6 or higher:

The FireFly ignition system is independent from any manufacturer. In the FireFly App show mode, the integrated product catalogue includes a selection of over 100 NICO Firework items, such as cakeboxes, volcanoes, fountains, crackers, and other items that you can use for your customized FireFly Show. In Manual Firing mode, you can connect and fire both NICO and non-NICO products.

IMPORTANT: Do not use rising articles (such as rockets) for FireFly ignition. This can lead to serious personal injuries and equipment damages.

Channels 8 and 10 do not work individually in manual firing mode, but they are by no means defective. This is a power management optimization measure designed to extend battery life. All 13 other channels work quite regularly and can easily be ignited independently.

To operate channels 8 and 10 as usual, please make sure that the previous channels are connected.

The indicator lights on the channel indicate that the cable and clip are intact and properly connected to the module. When sending the ignition pulse both lamps go out briefly.

If all the lights are on but the glow wire does not glow, or only briefly or faintly, it is probably due to the battery’s usage status.

More about batteries can be found here.

Your device possibly uses an older or incompatible PDF reader.

Please double-check if the tool is functional and has been installed correctly e.g. by opening other PDF files with your PDF reading app.

Hint: The free PDF-Reader available in Google Play Store provides good service.

When your Android device fails to pair, there are several possible reasons.

1. Your Bluetooth Version might be older than Version 4.2
2. You are not moving within the efficiency range of approx. 80 meters.
3. Your mobile device uses Android 8.0 or higher.

The product developer issued a statement, saying that with Android 8.0 and higher, great difficulties with Bluetooth® connectivity arose – e.g. disconnection or inability to connect with FireFly. This problem, however, does not only relate to FireFly, but also to cars, earphones and portable speakers. The same mobile devices would have harmonized perfectly using the previous Bluetooth versions. They say that Google works on it already, but there is no date when this problem will be remedied.

If you own an Apple or another Android device running version 5.x to 7.x, please use it as a controller for the time being.

To check which operating system your mobile phone uses, please proceed as follows (designations may vary depending on the device):

> Open “Settings”
> Select “Device Information”
> Go to “Software Information”
> Android Version _____