textfiles/politics/fwks1984.hum

FIREWORKS IN THESE UNITED STATES - 1984 -

  Through no fault of my own, the land area of the 48 contiguous United States
is some 32 times larger then that of England.  Each of these 48 states has its
own laws regulating fireworks, so fireworks activity in the country as a whole
can be described only in general.  Here in New York State, for example, the
fireworks law during the 42 years of my lifetime has been simply, NO!  However,
as you will see, the public will have fireworks with which to celebrate festive
occasions, such as, Independence Day (The Fourth of July).  [Despite the fact
that our Fourth of July is set aside to celebrate the "founding of a new nation
and freedom from Great Britain's tyrannical rule," in most of this country the
use of fireworks as part of these festivities is forbidden, while in
"tyrannical Great Britain," fireworks are legal!]

  There are two categories of fireworks in these United States.  The type most
often used by the general public is legally described as "Class C or common
fireworks, devices suitable for use by the public and designed primarily to
produce visible effect by combustion." Some small devices designed to produce
audible effects, such as firecrackers and pyrotechnic whistles, are also
included in this class.  (In England these would be called "Shop Goods.")

  The second category is termed "Class B or Special Fireworks, those man
ufactured articles designed primarily for the purpose of producing vis ible or
audible pyrotechnic effects by combustion or explosion." As these are limited
to use by professionals at public displays, I will have little more to say
about them.

  Until 1976 there were few federal (nationwide) laws pertaining to fire works
for use by the public.	However as bureaucrats abhor legislative vacuums, it
came to pass that:

  "On June 8, 1976 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) pub lished in
the Federal Register its Final Order for Fireworks Devices.  The order,
constituting regulations pursuant to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act,
became effective on December 6, 1976.  In response to injuries caused by
fireworks, the order deals with Class C fireworks, intended for consumer use,
but has no effect on existing state bans on fireworks or generally on fireworks
used for public display (Class B fireworks).  [Please note that this and what
follows are quotes and not my wording or ideas.] The order regulates common
fireworks by specify ing:

  "What fireworks devices may not be sold to consumers

  "The prohibited chemicals which cannot be used in regulated fireworks devices

  "The physical specifications for the regulated fireworks devices

  "Labeling of fireworks"

PERMISSIBLE AND BANNED FIREWORKS

  "The regulations promulgated by the [CPSC] pursuant to the Hazardous
Substances Act ban the following articles as hazardous substances because they
possess such a degree of danger or nature of hazard that adequate cautionary
labeling cannot be written and the public health and safety can be served only
by keeping such articles out of inter state commerce."

BANNED FIREWORKS

  "Fireworks devices designed to produce an audible effect if the effect is
produced by more than 2 grains of pyrotechnic composition (including but not
limited to cherry bombs, M-80 salutes, silver salutes, and other large
firecrackers, aerial bombs, and other fireworks designed to produce audible
effects, including kits and components to produce fire works)

  "Firecrackers designed to produce audible effects, if the effect is produced
by more then 50 milligrams

  (0.772 grains) of pyrotechnic composition

  "Aerial bombs, and devices that can be confused with food, i.e., dragon eggs,
cracker balls (ball-type caps)"

BANNED CHEMICALS

  "Arsenic sulfide, arsenates, or arsenites, boron, chlorates (permitted in
coloured smoke, party poppers and caps, and small spinning devices), gallates
or gallic acid, magnesium, mercury salts, red or white phos phorus, picrates or
picric acid, thiocyanates, titanium finer then 100 mesh, and zirconium."

  The state of South Dakota also prohibits the manufacture of "Firecrack ers
longer than 3 inches, made wholly or in part of dynamite, nitro glycerine, [or]
giant powder." [It would be interesting to know what prompted them to pass this
law!]

  There are several more pages of regulations setting forth physical spe
cifications for Class C fireworks, that are on the whole rather dull and
because their enumeration would not appreciably help your under standing of the
American fireworks scene, I will not trouble you with the details.

  The determination that a fireworks device conforms to all of the varied
requirements allowing its sale as class C, is for the most part done by the
Bureau of Explosives, which despite its official sounding name is a private
company sponsored by the Association of American Railroads.  The BOE's most
important function as concerns fireworks is the issuing of "EX" and "BX"
numbers to both Class B and C fireworks of domestic manu facture and imported,
as proof that these items meet all shipping requirements (BX numbers) or that
they are Class C (EX numbers).

  Unfortunately, there have been some past problems with imported items
admitted without "EX" numbers, which, when later tested were found to be Class
B rather then Class C, and therefore not permitted to be sold to the public.
As a result, the authorities have become more vigilant in assuring that
imported items have the required "EX" numbers assigned to them.

  The 50-mg limit on the amount of powder permitted in firecrackers and the
total abolition of "cherry bombs," "M-80's," and like devices, has resulted in
the creation of a black market to satisfy the public desire for these infernal
devices.  Unfortunately, as profit increases geome trically with device size
and power, even larger "ground bombs" have found their way into the public
hands or what's left of them!  Several years ago a number of rather large
salutes (commonly called "block bus ters") were produced using a normal-looking
fuse manufactured using the wrong type of powder.  This fuse burned for only an
instant rather than for the expected three, or more seconds!  The results of
this mistake are obvious, and therefore I will spare the reader the sordid
details.

  With the explosion of an illicit "fireworks factory" located in Benton,
Tennessee May 27, 1983, killing ten persons, one could posit a consid erable
market for these devices, and one could further speculate that the distribution
of such a large number of devices would require a well organized group.

  The 50-mg limit has resulted in the production and marketing of a num ber of
ersatz "ground bombs," called variously "M-800's," "M70's," and "Ozark
crackers." These are devices having external dimensions equal those of banned
large salutes, while containing only the legal maximum 50-mg powder content, to
the great disappointment of many a purchaser.

  LOCAL LAWS

  Laws vary from state to state, with some states having no laws regulat ing
the use of fireworks and therefore presumably allowing all that are legal under
federal law, while other states allow NO fireworks for pub lic use.  My native
New York is included in this list - NO ANYTHING - not even sparklers.  Some
here in New York are reduced to lighting steel wool pads and twirling them on
the end of a string for fun!  Others, in a small Connecticut town, stand around
the lake at night holding red highway flares as a Fourth of July celebration.
AUUGGGHHHH!

  Some states have "safe and sane" laws (e.g., California and Washington)
allowing only those devices approved by the State Fire Marshal, but none that
explode, shoot fireballs or rise in the air.  Still others prohibit only those
that "leave the ground" and firecrackers.  In many states the dates on which
fireworks may be purchased and used are also specified, the most common times
of permitted use being around the July Fourth Independence Day holiday.  (I
don't know if King George III liked fireworks or not, but he really gave us on
this side of the Atlantic a handy excuse to display ours!).

  Christmas, and/or New Year's are the second most common times for the public
to display fireworks.  Indeed, in the southern United States, most fireworks
activity takes place at Christmas and New Year.  Two rea sons have been
suggested for this difference in timing:  (1) The Fourth of July falls on the
anniversary of the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi to Union forces under General
Grant on July 4, 1863, effectively ending the Civil War, and (2) "No fireworks
were used at Christmas time in the Northeastern United States because of the
background of the settlers.  The Church of England forbade such demonstrations
as fireworks for celebrating Christmas.  In the South the predominant culture
was Spanish and French, and both of these nationalities celebrated Christmas
and New Year's with fireworks as early as the 14th century."

  A number of avenues are open for those living in "closed states" to obtain
fireworks for use on the "Fourth" and other festive occasions.  Probably the
most common way is to obtain them from your local bootleg ger, as almost
everyone seems to know of someone with a garage/basement/trunk full of
fireworks he is willing to sell for a handsome markup.	Indeed, photocopied
price lists circulate freely through the populace, here in the East around the
Fourth of July.

  No doubt the second most common means for one to obtain fireworks is simply
to drive to a state permitting their retail sale, e.g., South Carolina where
along the main roads may be found stores with so large a selection that they
supply shopping carts for their customers' use!  Other states, while
prohibiting sale to residents, allow sales to those residing out-of-state;
therefore it is possible for those able to prove out-of-state residence to
purchase fireworks where otherwise prohi bited.

  There are, as can be expected a number of companies who will fill mail orders
for fireworks.	Whether they will arrive at your home is prob lematical if you
live in a closed state as large numbers of shipments are "confiscated" by local
authorities upon arrival.  The "Church Act", a federal law prohibiting the
"transportation of fireworks into any state in which the sale or use of such
fireworks is prohibited," has been in existence since 1954, but it has never
been vigorously enforced, assuming there could be found a way to enforce it!

  While I, for one would not agree that "laws are made to be broken," there is
always the classic, "while it may be illegal de facto,....  de jure ....." That
is to say, if you and half of the neighborhood chil dren (children are great
"cover") are out on July Fourth shooting off your goods, few if any peace
officers in this county are going to bother you (assuming you haven't broken
any windows with your ground bombs).  In fact, some years ago the New York City
Police Department announced that it was senseless to call them and complain
about fire works on the Fourth, as they had more important things to do!
Indeed, come July Fourth, my neighbors and I "truck on down" to the local park
and proceed to "DISPLAY" fireworks with great abandon.  I am rather keen on the
park as with its lake and large amounts of open space, it is possible to shoot
rockets and such with out having to worry where they will impact, and since so
far none of the local children have demon strated the ability to walk on water,
keeping them at a safe distance and out of the line of fire is that much
easier.  Aside from the rockets our activities cause little nuisance in the
park, in the form of lit ter, &c.

  An interesting "convenience" has arisen concerning the sale and posses sion
of fireworks here in New York State.  The law provides that posses sion of more
than $50 worth of fireworks is considered prima-facie evi dence of intent to
sell and therefore is a misdemeanor (i.e., a crime with a maximum sentence of
less than one year in jail and/or a maximum fine of $500, although nothing
approaching either penalty is common), but it is still a criminal offense and
not the kind of thing one would want on his record.  To prevent this from
happening either at the time of "arrest" or before the trial, the quantity of
fireworks "seized as evidence" is "reduced," seemingly by magic to a quantity
having a value of less than $50.  Therefore no "arrest" need be effected or
trial held, as one can simply be issued a summons (like a traffic ticket), let
go with a verbal warning or if need be, plead guilty at the appropriate time to
"possession of fireworks," which is not a crime but an "offense" (in the sense
that a parking ticket is not crime), and simply pay the $25 to $50 fine levied.
Whole truckloads of fireworks have been known to disappear in this manner.  I
will allow the reader to form his own opinion as to the morality of this
arrangement, and as to the final disposition of the missing material!

  Here in New York City, starting in early June, one may venture to the corners
of Broadway and Canal Street, (the confluence of the rapidly expanding
Chinatown and Little Italy) and, while taking in the local colour, notice on
each of the four corners individuals rather boldly asking passing pedestrians
and drivers if they wish to purchase fire works.  This trade will be carried
out until a day or so before the Fourth of July, when the outraged dignity of
those who disdain fire works forces the officers of the local Precinct House (2
blocks away) to take some token action, generally confiscations of the
remaining merchandise.

  The large Chinese population of New York is provides good excuse for those of
us wishing a respite from the "winter fireworks doldrums" to venture forth in
early February to help the Chinese ward off our common "devils" and bad luck
during the Chinese Lunar New Year.  For a five- day period this year, Chinatown
streets were closed to traffic at night to provide a clear area for the Dragon
Dancers to perform, and on which to light [illegal] fireworks and such.  My
fellow aftificier and I, in a spirit of most complete altruism, help the
Chinese celebrate with our fireworks as a way of thanking their ancestors for
inventing gun pow der!	As an aid in helping the natives celebrate this year, I
had the foresight to obtain some "Horse Brand" All Red Crackers, which even the
natives had to admit were "very authentic." As the festivities take place under
the watchful eye of the local constabulary, one is wise to limit himself to
"legal" illegal fireworks:  i.e., no large salutes, so as not to offend the
sensibilities of the local populace and officials.  Last year, despite numbing
cold and the 2 - 3 feet of snow on the ground that severely limited the
functioning of various small ground spinning items, not to mention one's
fingers, we managed to "carry on."

  Strange as it may seem, there is little in the way of fireworks avail able in
Chinatown, other then the ubiquitous firecrackers and bottle rockets, perhaps
because as has been pointed out to me, "the Chinese may make the fireworks, but
the Italians work the docks." Indeed, although it is often difficult to
determine the ethnic background of individuals in this polyglot metropolis, the
persons selling fireworks on the street corners surrounding Chinatown are
obviously not Orien tals.  However during the Chinese New Year celebrations a
small numbers of locals set up stands (cardboard boxes in some cases) from
which to sell fireworks to the passing tourist trade.

  There are, of course, those true aficionados who enjoy setting off not only
commercial fireworks but their own handcrafted devices.  As a means to this end
there have arisen a number of local fireworks clubs, such as the Catskill
Mountains Pyrotechnics Association (CMPA), a not- for-profit New York
corporation, of which I am member number 13.  (The exact reason for the club's
incorporation has been forgotten by me, but, if nothing else, it provides a
patina of legitimacy to our hard- to-hide activities!) Weather permitting, on
the first Saturday of each month starting with March and ending in October,
members meet under cover of darkness atop a shale bank overlooking a small dirt
strip air port in the Catskill Mountains of New York, to "do their thing."

  The production of fireworks by an individual for his own use is some what of
a legal gray area (to put it politely).  The Pyrotechnics Guild International
Incorporated (PGII) has obtained an opinion from the Director of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tax and Firearms (BATF), the agency in charge of enforcing federal
fireworks laws, that if one is making fireworks for his own use, and not for
commercial sale, he can reason ably expect to be left alone.  (Avoiding
activities that might call attention to one's offbeat hobby in a way that
cannot be ignored, is generally considered advantageous.  Smoke pouring out of
your windows accompanied by the sound of exploding fireworks is a phenomenon
quite likely to be noticed!)

  The CMPA has obtained a federal permit to possess and store Class B
fireworks, which covers members while attending club shoots, and to a lesser
extent while traveling to and from club shoots.  Possession of a copy of both
the federal and local permits has worked wonders with the local police forces,
in rare cases where members have been stopped en route.

  On the local level, unless one has an accident or the neighbors com plain
loudly, one can do his thing in peace.	As a matter of personal conviction, and
for reasons of personal as well as political safety I for one do not make
exploding fireworks.  To facilitate the production of homemade devices a number
of establishments have arisen willing to supply the budding pyro with both the
tools and supplies of his trade.  Items such as star pumps, fuse, drifts,
sundry paper goods (tubes, caps, end-plugs and discs), plus otherwise difficult
to obtain chemi cals, are readily available through mail order.

  Prior to each shoot, the club secretary obtains a permit from the local town
to "display fireworks." Then on the night of the shoot he notifies the State
Police of our activities, the notification being a courtesy, as it's hard to
hide when you have 30 or more people shooting fireworks on top of a mountain!
Although the area consists almost entirely of dairy farms, we try to keep the
production of large KA-BOOMS (aerial salutes) down after 2100 hours in the fall
and spring and 2200 in the summer, because the local farmers are of necessity
early risers.

  During club shoots one is likely to see anything.  (While members are free to
bring any item they desire, assuming that it's not radioactive (!), we try to
discourage LARGE ground bombs, for reasons of safety and as these devices are
long on pyro and short on technique.) This means anything from the profound
such as the three-inch salute that burned to the ground, bounced up to a height
of three feet !  and only then deto nated !), to the profane:  a three-inch
shell from which only one star ignited!  But then there are those whose efforts
result in devices that would not go unnoticed at a professional display,
including such effects as glitter -flitter, strobe stars, lamp black stars,
electric spreader mines, colour changing stars, large whistling rockets &c.,
all hand-crafted by members.  Although the most common sized aerial shell is
one three inches in diameter, four-, five-,and six-inch diameter shells are not
unknown.  Other members in keeping with bigger-is-not- always-better, have
produced spectacular effects using only 1-1/4" diameter shells.

  The club has used its expertise to put on several commercial displays for
both fun and profit.  The free shoot was a gift to the town of Prattsville, New
York for its bicentennial.  (Good fireworks make for good neighbors!) Other
clubs in the country are even more active in putting together shows, and
several have competed at the annual PGII convention.

  As can be expected with so many persons gathered in one place regularly for a
single purpose, a supplier of common fireworks has been found willing to keep
our larders filled, at case lot (wholesale) prices.

  Some members, feeling that fireworks are not only for the enjoyment of us
Brahmins, have consented to supply various members of the public, and friends,
with fireworks, presumably at a profit.  So far, no grief has come from their
activities.

  An interesting relationship has developed between several of the club members
and the owner of the airport and surrounding farm.  The club secretary is a
licensed blaster among his other trades, and therefore has legal access to
explosive materials.  As a result several members have donated their labor and
offset the cost of the explosives neces sary to remove a number of large rocks
from the fields surrounding the airport.  They have also blasted down a large
part of the shale bank, providing the airports owner with broken rock for use
as paving mate rial for the runway, &c.  As a result of these operations there
has been the created a large flat stone area for those wishing to shoot Class C
well separated from those igniting Class B.  The blasting oper ations have had
an added benefit in that they provide a legitimate out let to those members
whose interest in fireworks has manifested itself in the form of larger and
larger salutes, more and louder noise.	(This seems to be a problem we have in
common with of other clubs.) Further, after spending the better part of a day
drilling holes in assorted rocks in preparation for blasting operations, when
drilling and blast ing operations are completed they have satisfied a burning
desire for loud noises and are too tired to do ground bombs or much else.  They
have also come to find that the loneliest job in the world is that of the guy
who lights the fuse!

  In an effort to provide a medium for communication among pyro-hobbyists
across the nation, Max P.  Vander Horck in San Diego, California stared the
first monthly newsletter entirely devoted to such activities in November, 1966,
titled simply Pyronews.  The response to this first ten tative effort was so
enthusiastic that in January of 1968 Van (as he is now familiarly known) began
publishing a small magazine-format monthly under the more elegant -- if less
pronounceable -- name of American Pyrotechnist.

  True to the axiom that success breeds success, Van's second attempt to
promote communications in a hitherto notoriously uncommunicative field was
joined in January, 1970 by Fireworks News, "A Monthly Magazine on Fireworks,
Explosives & Pyrotechnics" published by Peter N.  Colonnese in Lexington,
Kentucky.  Then, in October, 1970, apparently deferring to that other old axiom
that two heads are better then one, Van and Pete joined forces under the banner
of American Pyrotechnist Fireworks News, "A Monthly Journal on Fireworks &
Pyrotechnics," which continued with Van as editor and Pete as publisher until
November, 1976 (final issue numbered 102).

  As a direct outgrowth of the enthusiasm and correspondence generated by these
joint and several publications, Van founded the Pyrotechnics Guild
International (PGI) in March, 1969, a name reflecting the fact that his
readership by then extended far beyond the boundaries of these United States.
In announcing formation of the Guild in that issue (AP, Vol.2,#3) he stated
that he felt the time had come to establish a nucleus for a non-commercial
organization devoted to the common (or uncommon) cause:  the love of fireworks.

  As a representative symbol thereof, he went back to the seventeenth century
for the grizzled image on the venerable "Green Man" with his "fyre clubbe," who
traditionally led processions of fireworkers at royal (and sometimes
not-so-royal) celebrations in Jolly Olde England.

  As noted below, the Guild has thrived and survived numerous changes of hands
and scribes during the 15 years since its inception, as has its Green Man
emblem.  It even survived a name change to the tongue-twisting "Pyrotechnics
Guild International, Incorporated" (PGII) and accompany ing assessment of
annual dues beginning in 1975!	Another change came at the end of America's
Bicentennial year, when Pete gave up publication of the APFN in November, as
previously mentioned, and Van took it over again under the original name of
American Pyrotechnist from January, 1977 through June, 1981 (AP issues
#103-153), jokingly referring to it as "its own grandpa"!  At that point
history again demonstrated its repetitive nature when Van passed the
pyro-publishing torch on to Jack Drewes, who himself had already established a
reputation for pyro- journalism in previous issues of the Catskill Mountain
Fireworks News and in succeeding ones with that geographical reference dropped.

  Starting July 1981 the new publication in turn became the current Amer ican
Fireworks News, "An International Newsletter for Fireworks People," for which I
am a "special correspondent," this being a fancy way of saying that I work for
nothing.  Published twelve times a year, the American Fireworks News is a
newsletter-format publication dealing with less technical fireworks activities.
Jack also reproduces and dis tributes John Bennett's Fireworks as a service to
American readers.  As a service to those with professional interests in
fireworks Jack has begun publication of Fireworks Business (Issue No.1,
February 1984).

  To disseminate information of a more technical nature, Robert G.  Card well
in 1977 founded Pyrotechnica, "Occasional Papers in Pyrotechnics," of which to
date nine numbers have been published.

  The Guild at present has over 600 members throughout the country.  To keep
members informed of Guild activities, and as a medium for articles dealing with
construction of an array of devices, safety, history of fireworks, the
collection of fireworks related items and various other facets of interest to
members, the Guild publishes the PGI Bulletin, January/February 1984 being
issue number 40.

  Since 1973 the Guild has held annual conventions.  At the 1983 conven tion,
contests were held for:  Grand Master, Advanced - Intermediate - Novice Aerial,
Best Large -Medium Large - Medium Shell, Advanced Rocket, Novice Rocket, Novice
Ground, Class "C" Commercial, Best Comet, Best Wheel, Best Movie Special
Effect, and Best New Aerial Effect.  A "SUPER STRING" of 293,000 firecrackers
was *****.  (There seems no appropriate word in my dictionary to describe the
"*****" of a 293,000-cracker string!) Various seminars and workshops covering
the diverse interests of the membership in fireworks are also held.  As the
highlight of the 1983 convention a 24"-diameter 118 lb.  ($1000!) "Thousand
Flower Blooming" shell was launched with great success and effect, even though
after firing, it took three days of concerted effort to pluck the mortar tube
from the ground!

  In closing, even though I and others like myself may live in states that
allow no fireworks, by the use of simple common courtesy, i.e., no loud noises
at odd hours, superior timing, the use of national, local, religious, and
ethnic celebrations as "cover," and the formation of common-interest clubs,
such as the CMPA, Northern Lighters, Cracker Jacks, Great Lakes Pyrotechnics
Assn.  et al, we have our fireworks.

  Although others residing within political divisions having more under
standing and liberal fireworks laws may have an easier time obtaining and
displaying their fireworks, I doubt that they have as much fun as we, for our
Independence Day, like your Guy Fawkes Day had its origins with people of an
independent and rebellious nature; what more appro priate way to express this
than with fireworks, to the pleasure of us "fireworkers" and our audience!

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