So you want to be a pyro?

Occasionally I receive requests from people who are interested in becoming "pyrotechnician" or want to know what it takes to be one. Sometimes it is a young person who is writing a paper for school or someone a bit older who has just thought about it and thinks it would be something interesting to do. And sometimes it is someone even older who is thinking of doing what they have always wanted to do.

First, let's define what we mean by pyrotechnician since this is a fairly general term that encompasses a number of different professions. A pyrotechnician can be someone who makes fireworks or pyrotechnic special effects (SPFX) or explosive special effects (SEFX).

A pyrotechnist is someone who performs fireworks displays such as on the 4^th of July or at a theme park. Or someone who performs SPFX, such as at a play or concert or stunt show. Or it can even be someone who performs SEFX, such as for a TV show or movie.

Often the term "pyro" is used for short for anyone who is a pyrotechnician or pyrotechnist.

Keep in mind there is a huge difference between a pyrotechnist and a pyromaniac (someone who likes to set things on fires). It is much like a race car driver (someone who speeds in a controlled environment and takes into account the risks involved) and a reckless driver (someone who speeds in an uncontrolled environment and ignores the risks involved). What a person is doing, how they do it and why they are doing it is what defines them; not just the technology they are using.

Second, let's understand the differences there are in pyrotechnics. There are consumer fireworks, the smaller types the general public can buy and use. Then there are display fireworks, which are larger and more powerful and require permits and/or licenses to buy and use.

SPFX are small like consumer fireworks, but much more specialized and also require permits and/or licenses to buy and use. They are often used in concerts, theatres and stunt shows like at theme parks.

SEFX are not pyrotechnics but explosives and usually made on the site where they are used and also require permits and/or licenses to buy and use. These are the orange flamed - black smoke explosions you see in movies and TV shows or at air shows where bombing runs are simulated.

Third, the permits and/or licenses that are required vary depending on the type and quantity of materials involved, whether they are being manufactured, sold, bought or used.

Now on to your questions and answers!  

Q. What kind of training is needed and where and how can I get it?

A. For most pyrotechnicians and pyrotechnist there is only on the job training, since there is no real formal school for pyrotechnics. Art and music are helpful for display or show design, physics and chemistry for manufacturing, and theatre or film arts for production. Understanding all of these are required to some degree for all types of pyrotechnic endeavors.

Getting a job with a fireworks or pyrotechnics company isn't easy though. It is often seasonal and much of the work is quite simple, repetitive and frankly very boring. It takes a special discipline to do and a unique desire.

Q. Is there much traveling in this business?

A. For some it isn't a lot, since they work small areas or only select shows, while for others it may be all over the world. Most shows are on the road and so there is almost always some travel involved.

Only a few companies do the really big shows that mean long trips, while the rest pretty much stick to within a few hundred miles of their base of operations. The reason is unless one has the equipment and the crews to tackle the big shows, it is beyond most company's abilities to even try. It is also more expensive to travel the longer distances so it makes it harder to compete.

Some display and SPFX operators "freelance" and work with different companies in different parts of the world, so they do travel a great deal. They are the very skilled for the most part with lots of experience.

Q. What are the average amount of shows put on by one company, the US, and the world?

A. That is hard to say. Some places have a lot of shows, like theme parks which have shows every night. Other places may have only one or two shows in a year and others none.

My best estimate is that almost every town that has a post office has at least one fireworks show per year. Every big city may not have a show for every post office in that city, but whatever they do have will generally be very large. Some large cities seem to have a show every weekend in the summer and often displays for special events at other times of the year.

Most in the trade estimate that 70% of the displays are over the 4^th of July week, with most of the rest between Memorial Day and Labor Day and on New Year's Eve. Fireworks displays at other times than the 4^th are growing in popularity because they are a sure way to bring in a big audience for any outdoor event.

Orlando, Florida USA has the most shows because they have so many theme parks there which have shows every night of the year. Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World al have fireworks displays and SPFX performances on a regular basis, plus many special shows for special events.

The largest fireworks company that does displays is PyroSpectaculars of Rialto, California USA. They perform displays and SPFX shows all over the world. They do many of the large-scale shows you've seen such as at the Olympics, Super Bowls and other big events. They shoot the Macy's 4^th of July in New York, New York USA from 5 barges on the East River every year.

The largest fireworks display on an annual basis is Thunder Over Louisville in late April by Zambelli Internationale of New Castle, Pennsylvania USA. This show has over 30,000 aerial shells plus Roman Candles, waterfalls from two bridges and more!

Q. What is the average salary a pyrotechnic makes per year?

A. There is no "average salary".

Only a few people work full-time and year round so what people make varies widely. For most of the people in a manufacturing plant or distribution facility, it may only be minimum wage or a little bit above and this too may be seasonal. If they are skilled they can be paid more, but generally it takes them years to develop these types of skills and there very few opportunities since this end of the business is so small.

One reason is that even the most skilled pyrotechnicians can only make so much product in a year, and with finished fireworks from overseas that cost less than the material and raw ingredients, the demand for the premium domestic products is limited.

For display crews it is often by the day or show since shooting displays is also so seasonal. Only a few pyrotechnists work year round performing displays and most of these are at the theme parks, and most of them only work part-time.

In SPFX for concert tours or stunt shows or SEFX with movie and TV productions, there may be more steady work but these too have their seasons. There are only a few opportunities in these categories and only the more experienced and skilled will get these positions.

Owning a company can improve the pay, but it also increases the risks and there are no guarantees of success. It takes someone with a real skill, special talent and luck to run a successful company in any business and the fireworks business is no different. Like all business, it also requires a lot of hard work and dedication too.

Q. What advice do you have for me if I wanted to get started. What should I do?

A. First evaluate yourself. Are you a creative type of person? Or are you more technically oriented?

If you like music and art then take those types of courses, but if you like math and chemistry then take those instead. They may not have any "direct" links to pyrotechnics, but they are the fundamentals for the two major types of things one does in the field.

Also do as much research as you can. This will mean spending time in the library, on the Net, and investing in Books & Videos.

You'll also want to join some of the associations that are out there, like the Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) and the Western Pyrotechnics Association (WPA) or the many regional or state groups, so you can meet others like yourself who have the same interests. Attend the meetings and conventions, go to the seminars and workshops and learn as much as you can. Eventually you may meet someone in the trade who will help you along, just as someone else helped him or her.

Q. What do you see in the future of pyrotechnics? What innovations do you see coming?

A. There are more and more fireworks displays every year and I expect this trend to continue for a number of years. 2000 and 2001 were the biggest years for fireworks in world history, but we've already surpassed these in terms of quantity of product and numbers of shows. If the history in America is any indication and what we've seen since the Bicentennial, fireworks use has grown steadily every year and is now roughly 5 times as much as it was only 20 some years ago.

I also expect displays to get bigger and more complex too as people's tastes evolve and expectations rise. Everyone wants to have the big, grand displays they've seen in other places and even the small town displays want shows scripted and to music.

There have been many minor innovations that in and of themselves aren't revolutionary, but combined are. Electrical firing to scripts with music has been a really big innovation. Using computers to fire large-scale shows with lasers, lights and other effects is a major trend, especially at theme parks and the big budget shows. The many new colors and effects and combinations over the last few decades has been astounding, with much of them coming from individual pyrotechnic artists.

The SPFX use is growing and is used to enhance more types of events than ever before. It is growing at an even faster rate than display fireworks, although after the tragic fire in Rhode Island where 100 patrons were killed because of the misuse of pyrotechnics, there was a definite lull.

Computer graphics can replace some SEFX, but not all. In some cases it still costs more to use the fancier computers than to do it for real, and so far it isn't quite the same even on film.

I also expect consumer fireworks to become available in more and more states, as it has over the last few years. People like fireworks and most people use them properly and safely, and the industry is making tremendous strides in improving quality and educating customers, so the accident rates have dropped significantly.

Q. How did you get started in the pyrotechnics?

A. My involvement was first from the financial side, raising money for the fireworks displays in my community. Later it was in trying to learn how to do better displays, do them safer, save money and keep up with the regulations involved. During this process I made some contacts and happened upon on opportunity to assist in marketing a new product.

Q. How long have you been involved with doing pyrotechnics?

A. I've been involved in display fireworks since 1984. I have enjoyed watching displays as long as I can remember and as a child, I played with fireworks of all types (including M-80s, silver salutes and cherry bombs which were legal then). In chemistry classes in high school I did some extra credit which involved some basic pyrotechnic principles. I also taught my 2 boys about fireworks and we enjoyed them together as they grew up.

Q. Who taught you about fireworks?

A. When I first got involved in display fireworks, it was of course primarily the Skyrockers. Later on it was some of the people in the trade and of course a lot of research and over time, experience. My situation is unique since there are very few groups like this around and I was lucky enough to find some good, knowledgeable people who were willing to take the time to help me.

Q. Where can I learn more about fireworks?

A. The library is always a great place to start to learn about almost anything. If your library doesn't have any books about any subject that interests you, they can often obtain them from other libraries through an inter-library loan.

You can also purchase books and videos about fireworks from a number of specialized publishers. American Fireworks News (AFN) is a good place to start.

Q. How old were you when you started getting interested in fireworks?

A. Probably younger than I can remember. I do remember playing with sparklers when I was very young. When I was growing up all types of fireworks were legal and available, so all the kids in the neighborhood played with fireworks of all types.

Later when I was a teenager, I always watched the Skyrockers New Year's Eve fireworks show here from my parents, who have a picture window that faces the Bluff. My friends and I would also go down to watch the 4^th of July fireworks over the Mississippi River as well as play with whatever we could get our hands on.

As an adult I would bundle my boys up to go enjoy the New Year's Eve shows and we always went down to watch the show on the 4^th too. Then I joined the Jaycees, a volunteer civic group which sponsored the show on the 4^th of July and worked for a number of years helping to raise the money for that show.

When I heard the New Year's Eve show was having difficulty raising money, I volunteered to help out and became President of the group. As I got involved in that I learned more about it and eventually made some connections that led to my getting into the business.

My experience of "falling" into the business isn't unusual. Most people in the trade either entered it like me by happenstance so to speak, or they grew up in it. Only a few people decide at a very young age that this is what they want to do and actually do it.

Q. What made you interested in them?

A. The same thing that interests everyone else. Fireworks are exciting, they are dramatic and they are unique. We human beings are the only animals that are fascinated both by the bright lights and sudden noises they emit, while all other creatures will run away.

Q. What's the harder to do make them or shoot them?

A. I don't know which would be "harder". I think that is somewhat subjective since both are very challenging and it will depend on whom you ask. I'm sure the pyrotechnicians who make them think it is harder because the process is so labor intensive and to make them consistently well takes a lot of effort. The pyrotechnists who perform displays also have a lot of hard work to do and to fire them consistently well also takes a lot of effort.

It would be like asking a musician which is harder, making a violin, writing the music for one, playing one, or putting a whole orchestra together and playing a concert?

There are a number of pyros who can both make fabulous fireworks and also perform fantastic shows. For some making fireworks is easier because they have those types of skills, while for others designing a display and scripting it to the music is their forte. Then there are those who can take the fireworks and the script and put all the people and equipment together out in the field and make it all happen.

Of course there are SPFX and SEFX people who can make their special magic work well in much the same way too.

Q. What's your favorite part about fireworks?

A. The cheering of the excited crowd! There is nothing like having a small audience of a few dozen at a private affair or a huge crowd of hundreds of thousands cheering and honking their horns for what it is you did to entertain them. No other medium allows for entertaining a larger "live" audience or over such a large area.

My favorite aerial shells are large color changing diadem chrysanthemums, crossettes (especially silver and blue), well timed color and tourbillions, artillery or fusillading shells, and large multiple break shells with perfectly times bottom shots.

Q. What's your least favorite part about fireworks?

A. This is a long list! Digging holes, the cold and snow, hauling dirt and sand, the cold and rain, hauling mortars, the heat and sun, burying mortars, loading and unloading racks of mortars, running and checking cable, the bugs and mosquitoes, the dust and mud, the long drives back and forth especially at night, the lousy food, the hassles with the idiots who think they can walk through the barricades to where we are setting up, the low pay, and my most least favorite thing of all ….. is cleaning and picking it all up after the display!

Q. What's the scariest thing that has happened to you involving fireworks?

A. While electrically firing a large show scripted to music, the radio link that played the music and provided the cues to me cut out. So I simply kept firing to a rhythm having played the music over and over before the show so I was familiar with it. When the radio link was reestablished a few minutes later, I was only 2 or 3 cues off and was quickly able to adjust so everything went off without a hitch.

As far as things going wrong with the fireworks, there have been a few moments that have certainly startled me to say the least. The key for me is the lessons I learned early on, especially the discipline to do things certain ways so when, not if, these things happen the risks are minimal.

Q. What is it like to light a firework? Scary?

A. It is exciting to light them off, but some of that depends on the individual and their expectations. The anticipation has a lot to do with what and how one feels.

The first time one manually lights an aerial shell can be a little scary, but over time it becomes fairly routine. Electrically lighting them is different because one is farther away, but then that usually means a larger show, a larger audience and so larger responsibilities.

Every time one manually lights a larger caliber aerial shell though is quite a rush! The physical sensation firing it is quite something and quickly reinforces the amount of energy involved. Think about something the size of a bowling ball that when fired, will fly into the sky over 1,000 feet in 5-6 seconds!

They key for me is to plan ahead, set everything up the right way, take my time, stay loose and relaxed, and always stay focused and disciplined. One must always respect fireworks and what they can do and not fall into the mental trap of having misplaced confidence. We all would like to believe we aren't going to have an accident when we ride a bike, or drive a car, or use a power tool, but then that is why we have to stay sharp and also put the helmet on, the seat belt and the safety glasses ….. because an accident can happen to anyone at anytime.

Q. What's the scares you the most about fireworks?

A. Driving home after the display, especially because of all the drunks and the deer. 

Q. What kinds of accidents have occurred when inexperienced people have handled fireworks?

A. Inexperience in any endeavor is often what leads to accidents and with fireworks is no different. Some of the biggest mistake of inexperienced people is trying to re-ignite a fireworks device they believe didn't light, running up to it and looking at it really close to see if it did go out …. then find out when it goes off it was lit in the first place.

A golden rule for fireworks or anything else is: If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it!

Q. What happens to you if you have fireworks in a state which doesn't allow them legally?

A. That will all depend on what state one is in, what type of fireworks are involved and how many, and what one is doing with them at the time. The official response may be to ignore it as long as it is small stuff and no big deal to simply confiscating them, to confiscating them and getting a ticket, to confiscating them and getting arrested.

It isn't too difficult in most states to get a permit to be able to buy and use fireworks. It just takes some research, some planning and preparation.

Q. How can I get my license?

A. The type of license you may need will depend on what state you are in, what types of fireworks, SPFX or SEFX you are planning to use, what you plan on doing with them (manufacture and/or use), and what state(s) you plan on using them in. There are also federal licenses as well as state licenses too. Some states require a license for each activity, some require permits for

Generally you'll need to be at least 21 years old, have a clean criminal record (no felony charges or convictions), be clean of drugs and have no history of a mental disease or other similar problem. You'll also may need to have had some experience with the types of pyrotechnics you are trying to get a license for.

Most state licenses require you to make an application, pay the fee, meet their minimum requirements for experience and pass a written test about the laws and regulations that apply in that state. Some states require a substantial amount of experience in order to qualify for certain licenses.

Federal licenses have similar requirement s, but do not have any tests or experience requirements.

In states without a license for the activity you are interested in, you'll need to obtain a permit from a local government such as a city, town or village. They may require very little if it is a small community fireworks display or a great deal if it is a large display or some other unique SPFX or SEFX you plan on doing there.

Q. How much do fireworks cost?

A. Like almost everything else, the cost will depend on the type of fireworks, the source, the quantity and at what point in the distribution chain one purchases them. If one purchases in large quantities directly from the manufacturer, the price will be less than if one purchases in smaller quantities from a distributor. However then one must have the facilities and employees to store them, sort them and prepare them for the shows.

North American, Japanese, European and South American made fireworks generally cost more than fireworks from the China, which supplies the largest amount of all types of fireworks. This is because the cost of labor and operating a business is higher in those countries than in China. Most of the manufacturers in each country make different types and styles of fireworks that are often favored in that country, so those manufacturers continue to do well.

Distributor prices may range from $3-15 for a 3"aerial shell to $100-300 for a 12" aerial shell, all depending on the type, complexity and source of the shell. Manufacturer prices in quantity may be 40-90% less, again depending on the source, the quantity, etc.

The types of fireworks used in a display will have a dramatic impact on the way the display looks and sounds. Cost are often an important consideration when planning for a display

There are two schools of thought on cost. One is to use as many of the lowest cost fireworks one can to try to have the so many fireworks in the sky, it overwhelms the audience with shear numbers. The other is to use more fewer fireworks that cost more, but have unique visual and audible effects, and to use them in a more choreographed style of display.

Q. How much to fireworks weigh?

A. The weight of fireworks is dependent on the size as well as the types of effects inside. Generally aerial shells in a round or ball shape, weigh less cylindrical or canister shells of the same caliber. This is because they have more volume and thus hold more inside.

Ball shells are usually single break, meaning when they "break" open in the sky there, is just one small explosion and the colors or effects are ignited and do their thing. Canister shells can be single break too, or they can be multiple-break, with 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 10 breaks in a single shell! Multiple breaks are more difficult and expensive to build because they require more time and skill, and thus are not as common as single break.

They are also longer and heavier and may require special mortars and other extra preparations too.

A 3" ball shell can weigh as little as 6 oz or as much as 9 oz. A 3" canister shell can weigh 8oz to 2 pounds! Some of the large multiple break shells favored in countries like Malta, Italy and a few American-Italian shell builders can weigh 100-200 pounds and be 5 feet tall!

Q. Do you ever practice?

A. Not really because it is so expensive to just practice a full fledged display. Some of the theme parks do practice their shows, but that is very rare.

Generally in fireworks displays you get one take and it is "live". Everything must happen on time, on budget and as planned with no mistakes. It all has to happen outside, around whatever the weather is during setup and the evening of the display and with whatever the physical challenges there are at that site.

There is also often a lot of politics involved because the displays are so important to so many people, there are a lot of different ideas on what will work "best".

Occasionally some pyrotechnician's will conduct tests, especially of any new fireworks or methods they plan on using to see that they perform a particular way before taking them out into the field and trying it in a show. Pyrotechnician's learn early that it is so important to do complete research, plan for everything, bring everything you think you may ever need to use, and to expect the unexpected.

Revised April 24, 2006