This post has to do with what you see above: A garden tractor battery, some wiring, and some of the fireworks you see in the background, all at last night’s Ala Moana Center 4th of July Fireworks show.When I arrived at the site at Magic Island, I noticed that, unlike previous years, there were cannons set up on the lawn area. Usually, all the cannons are set up on the beach. But this was something different.
Sherry Souza of Pyro Spectaculars by Souza also told me she had a job for me to do this year. She said it with her usual cheerfulness, but I sensed something a bit ominous. Humorous at the same time, but still ominous.Long story short, Sherry eventually told me that she wanted me to fire off the first shot of the show, using what she and the other professional pyro technicians called the old-fashioned but most efficient way to ignite fireworks. Most of the time, all of the shells are ignited through the computer control board. But because there were more fireworks than usual, there wasn’t enough wiring, so three ground effects would be fired manually. And that’s where I was supposed to come in.
So, on one end, a typical battery, with one pole wired to a nail on a board. The other nail is attached to the ground effects wire. You see that wire with some tape around it? My job was to remove the tape, and then touch the end of that wire to the nail, which would complete the electrical circuit, and, in theory, voila! The fireworks would go off.
On the other end, the ground effect known as a “cake.” It’s the flat box in the distant center of the photo (click on photos to enlarge). The cake is like a mega-version of the fountains you fire at home at New Year’s.
According to the script, I was supposed to touch the wire to the nail 33 seconds before the official start of the entire fireworks extravaganza. It sounded easy enough. Also, there were two professional pyro techs, Jim and Kevin, whom I’d known for three years on either side of me; they would attach another wire leading to two other cakes, which would fire at nine minutes and 42 seconds in. My adrenaline was going, but I felt safe (besides, the company has a big stress on safety, so I’m very sure Sherry wouldn’t let me do what I do with them if she didn’t believe I was up to it). So, I’m waiting for my cue, with the bare wire waiting to touch the nail. Then Sherry says the magic word.
“Fire!”
I touch the wire to the nail. Nothing.
“Fire!”
I try again. Nothing.
“I said FIRE!”
By this time, Jim, Kevin and I are all looking at each other with the realization that the battery is dead. Sherry realizes this as well when she sees this. Fortunately, since it was a manual firing, it wouldn’t affect the computerized portion of the show.
We were able to fire off the cakes during the show, but here’s how it was done. Jim, a real pro, whips out a small flashlight, unscrews the top off and removes the two AA batteries. He takes one wire and uses his finger to attach it to the negative end of one battery. He touches the other wire to the head of the second battery. Then, on a cue from Sherry, he touches the two batteries together, and finally, the cakes fire. He then quickly takes the second wire to fire the next series of cakes, again with the AA batteries, at 9:42 in. That goes off without a hitch.
When the show was over, we huddled together and figured that the battery had been old and sitting in storage since New Year’s Eve. The battery had been used to fire a small test squib, but apparently that was the last bit of power in it. We also had a good laugh about the whole thing.
The experience taught me two things: One, these guys are pros and are able to fix an already-underway fireworks show without anyone really knowing the difference. Two, it underscored that these things are explosives — especially when all it takes are two small flashlight batteries to set them off. Even so, I still hope to get another chance to start the show next July 4th.
Ben.
ben@kitv.com
