Pyrotechnics and Fireworks Display

When we are kids, a lot of us get several warnings of the risks of playing with fire. And to make sure we paid attention to these risks some of us were often threatened with some sort of punishment if caught. The most common scare tactic that I know of is the thought that you will "burn the house down". Or In my case my mom actually showed me a recorded news clip in which a kid actually burned his parent's house down. And since I liked the house we were living in, I learned a valuable lesson from that news clip, and that was not to play with fire...By the house.

As an alternative, me and many friends went out to the desert and experimented with a lot of the prohibited fireworks that a friend got from his uncle. That's when I began learning about Pyrotechnics. In that desert we learned a lot about flammable things, and we learned the hard knocks way. We set everything on fire, checked to see what liquids were flammable and discovered new ways to blow things up, but that involved getting burned pretty often. But in my opinion, well worth it

The 4th of July was my favorite holiday as it was during this time that I was able to openly display my new pyrotechnics know-how. I would make all types of plans and schemes prior to July 4thso that it would always be a blast. And I would like to watch the fireworks displays, so much that I wanted to create my own, so when I was about 11 I got some PVC pipe and a massive amount of bottle rockets. I modified everything so much that it was hard to recognize it as a soon to be fireworks display. However this ended up to be an epic falter. After all was said and done all I had was some colorful flames and melted PVC pipe.

I learned a good deal of the basic things when i was young. So here are some tips that some people can use this the fourth of July

Bottle rockets - Now bottle rockets are banned in most places now a day, but if you acquire them, Remember that it is not wise to point that thing in any direction but up. And particularly don't point them at any friends, they might have some too and have a sudden urge for revenge. And trust me you don't want a bottle rocket flying toward your face; it's not a enjoyable experience
Explosives -Ok, do not light anything that goes BOOM, while holding it with your bare hands. Depending on the size of the the thing that goes boom, this could do anything from messing your hand up for a couple days, to losing your hand altogether. As a matter of fact, I don't recommend lighting most fireworks while holding them.

Short fuse - If something has an extremely short fuse, my first suggestion is to toss it. However, if you really must, and it's not a firework that goes boom, then use a long BBQ lighter. Actually making use of a long BBQ lighter would be good to use for most of your home pyrotechnics & fireworks display needs, it's just handy.

Duds - If a firework does not go off after you light it, DO NOT TOUCH IT... Just let it sit for awhile, like 15 minutes... If if your short on time ad don't want to wait for it, then hurl a bunch of water on it... And even after you waited 15 minutes you should probably still throw water on it.

I hope you find these tips helpful as these guidelines sure have kept me safe over the years. Because I am still a pyro at heart and Pyrotechnics has proved to be a very intriguing part of my life. But, now (Armed with a little more common sense) I do things a little more cautious. Pyrotechnics is a exceedingly enjoyable activity and I suggest that those with a "pyro spirit" should check it out as soon as they can.