by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For someone who refuses to do any electrical work beyond changing a light bulb, walking among thousands of pounds of fireworks as they are being fused can be nerve-wracking. But, that’s the only way to get a better perspective on what it takes to light the Downtown sky on Fourth of July.
This week, a crew from Pyro Shows — a LaFollette, Tenn.-based company that handles fireworks shows all over the Southeast United States — was at Dell Marine on the Intracoastal Waterway prepping the ordnance that will have thousands oohing and aahing Friday night.
“We’ve been doing this the last 15 to 20 years,” said Mike Walden, vice president of the company. “I have been here every Fourth except one since 1995. Jacksonville is like a second home to me.”
At its simplest, prepping for the show means loading ordnance into canisters, tying the fuses together, towing the barges Downtown and putting on a show. However, the process is much more complicated, involves thousands of pounds of explosives and miles of wiring and everything is denoted remotely. Oh yeah, it’s dangerous, as well.
Steve Phillips, who has been with the company going on 15 years, was on-site Wednesday morning overseeing a crew that includes veterans like Adam Hopkins — who was wiring the ordnance — and college kids who spend their summers physically loading the fireworks onto barges and other areas from which they will be shot into the sky.
Phillips said you can’t smoke within 150 feet of the shells and fuses and lightning is a message to get away. He said a few years ago the company lost an entire set up when one bolt of lightning struck.
“It was pretty cool, but we lost a whole barge,” said Phillips.
Strong thunderstorms earlier in the week did pose a problem.
“The biggest challenge in Jacksonville in 2008 has been the weather,” said Walden. “We’ve had rain the past few days. The show is to the point now where weather will not affect it.”
Friday night may come across as one big show. However, it’s the orchestration of three barges loaded down with thousands of pounds of ordnance. Many are five and six-inch shells, with some bigger ones. Friday afternoon the barges will leave Dell Marine and head Downtown where they will park in the middle of the river in front of the Hyatt, the Landing and Metro Park.
Walden said this year’s show is relatively indicative of the rest of the country and the current economic state. No one is going overboard, but everyone will put on a good show to mark the country’s independence.
“We’ll put on a good, dynamic show for the people of Jacksonville,” said Walden, adding the biggest show his company will stage Friday will be at The Mall in Washington, D.C.
After the show, a fire marshal will inspect each barge for dud ordnance and any other safety issues. Once cleared, Phillips said his crew will board the barges with flashlights to check for any fuses that may appear unlit and need to be diffused.
The fireworks start at 9:45 and will cost the City $45,000. Overall, the show will include 1,140 shells and 6,658 special effects boxes.
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