It's a blast and a boom
Members of Pyrotechnics Guild International will share the spectacle of their art during four public nights of fireworks shows beginning Aug. 11 at Cooper's Lake Campground.
But the fireworks hobbyists and professionals gathering for the weeklong “BOOM & a Blast” convention are more interested in what's inside the tubes than what's spread across the night sky.
Doug Taylor, president and CEO of Zambelli Fireworks of New Castle, said there are three kinds of fireworks.
He said. “One type is a shell, it makes the big spherical effects.”
“The main fuse connects to a lift charge which is what blows the shell out of the tube, at the same time lighting a time fuse. When the shell reaches the peak of its rise, the shell will explode,” Taylor said.
“Inside the shell itself are some round black things we call stars. The shape of the image you see in the sky is going to be determined by the way those stars are packed.”
“For instance, if it's in the shape of a smiley face, in a cross section of the shell, you would see the stars laid out in the shape of a smiley face,” said Taylor. “When a shell explodes, everything moves out in all directions at the same speed.”
Taylor said most shell types are named after flowers — chrysanthemums, dahlias, peonies — because the fireworks' appearance in the sky resembles their respective flowers.
Shells are designed to burst at 200 to 1,000 feet in the air.
Another type of firework, said Taylor, is called a cake. “It's a group of 25 to a 1,000 individual cardboard tubes, right on the ground, that launch fireworks a maximum of 150 to 250 feet in the air,” said Taylor.
“What you often see in fireworks shows is three levels of fireworks: cakes, shells and (more) shells, creating different images by using different tiers of space,” he added.Finally, Taylor said, “There's a starmine, which is a variation where all the stars are shot directly from a tube, so you get a column of stars.”Peter Rogoz, sales manager of Fire Art in Clearfield, would add two more devices to Taylor's list, especially since they might come into play at a gathering of pyrotechnic enthusiasts.“A comet is essentially a ball of color that flies through the air,” said Rogoz. “It resembles a comet streak. It tends to be a low-level effect, 100- to 300-foot range as far as height.”Rogoz said during the guild's fireworks displays the public should have the rare opportunity to see fireworks rockets in action.“A rocket is a self-propelled device that is basically thrust into the air by means of a rocket motor, where a shell is fired similar to a cannon shell,” said Rogoz.Rockets aren't used much in public displays, Rogoz said, because they are harder to control.But even without the rockets, displays take a lot of time and preparation, both Taylor and Rogoz said.“In a choreographed show, to design it takes two to four hours for every minute of show. It can take anywhere from 20 to 40 hours to design a show, depending on its complexity,” said Taylor.
“In 2008, when we did the show for the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh, we had fireworks at 14 different locations,” said Taylor.“For the PGI show, the show will be driven by a computer program,” said Taylor. “It's down to a hundredth of a second. The computer tells the system to send an electrical charge to an igniter that is connected to each of the shells.”“We have people who can shoot a show using a different system that is not computer driven, but it doesn't have the same exactness you would get with a computer,” Taylor said.Shows can take anywhere from an afternoon to a six days to set up, Taylor added.Rogoz said they will start setting up Aug. 9 for a fireworks show slated for Aug. 13 at Cooper's lake.“We're doing a themed show,” Rogoz said. “It's called 'The Elements,' based on earth, air, water and fire. It's all set to music and choreographed.”“I'm actually working on it right now, a 13-minute display takes 40 hours of design work,” he said.“We take the soundtrack development first, that takes a couple of days or months,” Rogoz said. “Once, the soundtrack is complete, we find all the effects to match and pick the team. We figure out where it is going to be shot and when it is going to be shot and what it will look like, picking every shot that the crowd is going to see.”Taylor said it may take six to eight people to produce a show.
Zambelli puts on 2,300 shows a year and has only 50 full-time employees. “Obviously, we use people who are part-timers around the Fourth of July,” Taylor said.“We have people that work for us all over the country: landscapers, lawyers and laborers,” Taylor said.He added in Pennsylvania there is no state license required to operate a fireworks show, but you do need a license to possess fireworks.“Every state has different licensing requirements,” said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, an industry trade group.“Pennsylvania requires no license,” Heckman said. “but operators must be deemed competent by local authorities.”“In Pennsylvania, that enforcement authority is usually the state police,” she said.But regardless of who is staging the shows, both Rogoz and Taylor agree that almost all the fireworks used in them are manufactured in China.“It used to be 30 years ago Zambelli and the companies that do shows nationally produced their own product,” said Taylor. “Zambelli, like a lot of companies, sent people to China to teach them how to make fireworks to our specifications.”“Ninety-five percent of the fireworks we use are made in China,” said Taylor.Rogoz concurred. “The vast majority are from China. Labor and material costs are cheaper and insurance costs are cheaper in China.”“It's mostly hobbyists that make their own shells,” said Tayor. “We still have some people who work for us that can do it, but the practicality of it doesn't make sense.”Rogoz said the mix of professionals and hobbyists is what makes the convention so unique.
“There's a lot of shop talk. It's a unique opportunity to see people that you haven't seen,” said Rogoz. “I know people who take their vacation around the PGI convention.”“It is really good time, a little brotherhood, a lot of shared ideas, it's good for the industry,” he said.“The public will get to see fireworks that they will only see at a PGI convention and it's not only the fireworks but the presentation. Show designers coming to strut,” Rogoz said.“It's an exciting event, a great event for Butler County,” said Taylor. “The Pyrotechnics Guild tends to rotate around the country. If they find a site they really like, they will come back every three to four years. I think Cooper Lake is going to be an excellent location for this, and I think a long-term relationship can be built from this,” Taylor said.
