Fireworks Expert on All of the Lights
There are fourteen holidays on the 2012 calendar. However, not all holidays are created equal. More than just a day off, the nature of the break in a workweek is equally important. The quality of a holiday is defined by the celebration that accompanies it. Carnival, Christmas, and Independence Day are defining moments of togetherness, spirituality and national identity. And only on very special occasions, the countdown to the day itself is one of wonder. New Years Day is ushered in with fireworks. Across the country, firework displays are being engineered for various communities. But there is hard work and danger that accompanies the lightshows. News Five spoke earlier today with Joseph Fuzy, one of a small group of persons qualified and licensed to conduct a professional firework display. Fuzy explained how the preparation that goes on before New Year’s Eve, will help to fill the sky with all of the lights.
Joseph Fuzy, Fireworks Expert
Joseph Fuzy
“There is what’s called consumer fireworks, which is 1.4—that’s over the counter like when you go to Melchor and find the little stores. Then you have the professional which is classified 1.3 and you have to be licensed to even purchase those. So there is a distinct difference between the two. It’s kinda funny because you’re trained so well to well to do the 1.3., there is no training for the 1.4 so there is more accidents that happen with the over the counter fireworks, the consumer fireworks than the professional fireworks. But when a professional show goes bad, it can be a real disaster.”
Jose Sanchez
“How dangerous is it?”
Joseph Fuzy
“Well we have pictures of people who didn’t know what theyt were doing which unless you got a very strong stomach, you don’t wanna see. I mean there is probably several hundred people killed every year from fireworks. Some of them we have it will put a four inch hole in you and won’t even slow it down. Mainly we do the September celebrations. I think we’ve done them now for six or seven years. And that like when we had the 25th Anniversary that took us almost a month to set up. And there was a load of us, a lot of people, helping. There was two barges, if you can remember, and it was approximately twenty-five minutes long. And the gist when we choreograph to music, that can take forty to fifty hours listening to the music and putting the fireworks to the music. And it’s amazing how many hours you put in for a twelve minutes show. You may have a hundred hours of work for ten minutes.”
Jose Sanchez
“Do you know what will actually be shooting into the sky; do you know what the visuals will be? What is the actual intimacy level with the fireworks itself?”
Joseph Fuzy
“You know every shell that is loaded into the mortar. A mortar is a tube made of HDP; it’s a special plastic—you never wanna use PVC or any kinda thing like that. PVC shatters and creates shrapnel. We know what every shell is and in some shows we designate at times when each goes off for the effect it gives; other shows we just load them up and mix them and go. It just depends on what the customer wants and what they are willing to pay for.”
