Only one application for a public display of fireworks has been lodged with the Dunedin City Council - from the Island Park Motor Speedway, which will hold a display following racing on November 1.
Outram School principal Greg Carroll said the school, which has run the public fireworks display at Henley for the past five years, has held alternative fundraisers this year after deciding the fireworks display was too expensive and risky to run.
Once pyrotechnics worth thousands of dollars were set up, the school had to pay for them, whether the event went ahead or not, he said.
"For the payback and the work involved, we felt there was just too high a risk."
Big Rock School at Brighton had also decided not to hold its fireworks display this year for the same reason.
As well, its bonfire would have been on election day and there was a polling booth at the school, a spokeswoman said.
David Grant, from Waitati School, said the school had cancelled its annual display last year because it was not an effective fundraiser for the amount of work required.
Dunedin City Council principal rural fire officer Graeme Still said it was disappointing more public displays were not being put on this year, because families tended to attend and they were more controlled.
He had received about 16 applications to hold private bonfires around the Dunedin area during the Guy Fawkes period, an increase of five from last year.
It was a "slight concern" because more people would be using fireworks in their own backyards.
Over the past few years the Fire Service and police had been successful in substantially reducing the number of fires and offending during the fireworks season, due to several factors, including education, enforcement and encouraging people to attend the public displays, Fire Service safety officer Barry Gibson, of Dunedin, said.
Last year there were fewer firework related incidents than there had been for many years with a drop from 45 fireworks related fires (mostly vegetation) in the southern fire region in 2006 to 15 fires last year, he said.
He asked people to maintain a constant awareness of the surrounding area, be mindful of the dangers of children around fireworks and not use fireworks left over from last year.
Fireworks can be bought from November 2 to November 5 by people aged over 18.
