The Bright Nights of a Dedicated Pyrotechnician
Club Service Program Chair Robert Robert introduced our very own Rotarian Dick Keenan, who is also a Pismo Beach July Fourth Pyrotechnics Extraordinaire. Dick has been helping with the PB Pyrotechnics for 12 years and this year the crew also provided the fireworks show for the AG Centennial Celebration.
The cost per show was $15,000 with the PB show being 30 minutes and the AG show being 15 minutes. He showed a slide show that documented "a day in the life" of what takes place to put that show together from beginning to end.
The Pier is completely watered down and the first step is a safety meeting for all of the seasoned pyrotechnic technicians and volunteers. The first "diamond" on the pier is for emergency responders and all participants wear eye wear, head wear, gloves and fireman turn-out gear. The set-up starts at 2:30pm and takes approximately 3-4 hours to complete.
Fuses are individually packed so that they go off one at a time, every 30 seconds. The Finale shoots off 10 fuses at once. Different metals in the manufacturing of the fireworks create the different colors that you see in the sky when they are set-off. Monkey packs are set-off and 30 fireworks go off at one time.
The fireworks are timed and laid out w/ guys for each section to set them off. They follow a timed program and Dick manages them and the tempo of the show.