h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I once heard that you were supposed to build two bonfires. One larger than the other. The smaller one you set light to and the larger is for the hedgehogs. If you only have one you may end up burning a lot of hedgehogs. Possibly the best way of avoiding this is to make the bonfire the day you're going to burn it.

Guy Fawkes Night is the busiest night for firemen in the UK.

Never touch a newly burnt sparkler. They are much hotter than you realise.

Safety tip: If you have built your bonfire over a period of days in a readily-accessible, fairly public place, check it for 'surprises' before setting light to it. Unthinking vandalistic morons can leave little presents such as full cans of WD40 concealed inside it, ready to explode and take out someone's femoral artery.