NEWS

Fireworks behind the scenes

Kate DuHadway
Lansing State Journal

DELTA TOWNSHIP – Hours before the first fireworks were lit at the township's Independence Day celebration Friday night, Roger Bonney and his crew of pyrotechnicians were at Sharp Park making sure everything was in place.

It's the busiest week of the year for Bonney, who is involved in some 50 fireworks shows each year in mid-Michigan, from July 4 celebrations to Lansing Lugnuts games, weddings and NASCAR races at the Michigan International Speedway.

"Every guy's here not because we're getting a million dollars," said Ed Bonney, Roger's brother and a fellow coordinator on his crew. "But we're having a million dollars' worth of fun."

Several hundred feet removed from where the evening's crowds gathered at the Lansing Mall, the Night Magic Fireworks crew set up rows of "mortars," tubes that hold the roughly 1,400 fireworks shells for the night's show.

After carefully arranging the long paper fuses so the fireworks could be lit in quick succession, the crew members used a long rod to tamp the shells down into their tubes, making sure they would get the most "bang" for their buck — and the greatest amount of height.

The pyrotechnics crew loads fireworks shells into mortars as Night Magic Displays sets up for the fireworks show at Sharp Park in Delta Township Friday July 3, 2015.

Depending on the size of the firework and the ground conditions, Friday's fireworks soared 150 feet to nearly 500 feet above the ground, Ed Bonney said.

During the show, firing crew members moved up and down the rows of mortars, lighting fuses as Roger Bonney "called the cadence," shouting out directions for which rows to light when.

The crew lit two to three fireworks per second during the opening barrage, Ed Bonney said, with as many as five shells per second during the finale. Throughout the course of the show, the firing rate slowed a bit as the company showcased "specialty" fireworks such as bow ties or smiley faces.

Ed Bonney described the process as "painting the sky" with light and color. It's the variety that creates beauty, he said.

After the last firework was lit, crew members waited at least 10 minutes to check for shells still within the mortars, and at least 30 minutes before members of the public could come within 350 feet of the firing range.

Ed Bonney said the crew is able to minimize risk with proper training and technique, but it's important to remember the inherent danger of working with fireworks and give the professionals a wide berth.

"Anything that explodes is dangerous," he said.

Fireworks terms

Shell: The firework itself, packed into a teardrop or cylindrical shape with gunpowder, fuse and two types of "charges": a "lifting" charge that launches the firework into the air and a "bursting" charge that causes the firework to explode in the air.

Mortar: A tube made of cardboard, fiberglass or high density polyethylene that holds a firework shell, directing it upward into the air.

Flight: A series of fireworks connected to the same fuse.

Peony: A standard, spherical firework.

Chrysanthemum: A spherical firework with more fullness than a peony.

Palm: A firework that trails bits of light downward, giving the effect of a palm tree.

Willow: A firework that trails downward almost to the ground, similar to a palm.

Salute: A firework designed to make a loud noise, rather than give off light or color.

Delta Township fireworks show by the numbers

Size of the fireworks shells: Up to five inches, although Roger Bonney's crew has used shells as large as 12 inches.

Number of fireworks: Over 700 in the main show and 650 in the finale, with a few sets of smaller fireworks shells in "multishot boxes." Around 1400 total.

Cost: Around $1,000 per minute for a typical small-town fireworks show. Shows in larger cities, with larger fireworks and bigger crowds, typically run around $2,000 per minute, Roger Bonney said.

Number of minutes in a typical fireworks show: 15 to 20