"We arrive on site about three o'clock in the afternoon," Lancaster said, "but the preparation starts a long time before that because we have to pick up our supplies and ice down lots of drinks for the crew because we are usually out in the open, with no shade, and its the hottest part of the day."
Once the process of putting a show together on the ground begins, "safety takes top priority," according to Lancaster, who has been helping shoot fireworks displays for 23 years. "Shell-by-shell, as we load them, we are making sure they are (not defective) and in good condition, for safety's sake."
How big are those shells?
"Some are larger than basketballs, 10-12 inch," Lancaster said. "These are the ones that go up to 900 feet before they explode." Most, however, are 2.5-3 inches in diameter, he added.
Lancaster says it takes "10-12 people on a crew for the 'standard size' and larger shows, but for much smaller displays, we can get by with about four people." He says most of the fireworks he uses come from overseas, primarily China, but also such places as Brazil, Israel, and Japan.
Lancaster says he averages "four or five" shows a year, mostly in the Gainesville area. The company he works for has done shows for, not only the American Legion, but also Concord Baptist Church, Free Chapel, Clermont and Georgia Square Mall in Athens.
He says you can "get just about any kind of show, if you are willing to pay for it. You can get them where every single shell is tied to a computer (program) to go off with the beat of accompanying music."
Lancaster said charges for larger shows run anywhere from "$15,000 to $25,000" with some of the larger shows in Atlanta costing up to $50,000.
As for the most unusual thing that has happened in 23 years of fireworks displays, Lancaster remembers when a shell failed to explode as planned as he was warming up the crowd for a small show at Lake Rabun.
"It came falling back to earth and it went off about 20 feet from me, right behind me. It just absolutely deafened me for the rest of the night."
A full day of activities are planned, as usual, at the Legion Tuesday with the fireworks scheduled about about dusk - but for Jim Lancaster and his crew, when that first shell explodes, it'll be the second half of a job that began several hours earlier in the hot sun when most of us were enjoying the holiday with family and friends.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/7/107788