The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Behind the scenes
Setting off pyrotechnics from barge on river requires extensive coordination
MIDDLETOWN — As the city bustled away on its usual course Friday, under gray skies with a light rain falling, headway was quietly being made ahead of Saturday’s big Independence Day celebration.
On the front lawn of City Hall, crews coordinated the unloading of multiple picnic tables and port-a-potties from a trailer with orange webbing set up to cordon off access to Route 9 from deKoven Drive as a backdrop. The city’s Fourth of July celebration is expected to draw many thousands from throughout Connecticut.
Over at Harbor Park, technicians from Pyro Engineering of Bethpage, N.Y., began work at 4:30 a.m., when a tugboat and barge full of fireworks shells from New London pulled into port after a six-hour journey.
Middletown fire marshals and other personnel oversaw the afternoon’s operation, meeting a truck carrying 102 boxes of fireworks just after noon.
The 140-foot barge will be stationed on the Connecticut River through Saturday night, when Middletown’s 30-minute pyrotechnics display will be set off at dusk.
Aaron Rosenzweig and his team, Jason Smith of Long Island and brothers James and John Waike, of Staten Island, had shells of various sizes and the firing guns covered in plastic to keep them dry in the morning. As its showered intermittently as the hours drew on, they waited for a truck to deliver its precious cargo.
Once it arrived, it was time to unload the boxes and load the guns.
“We’ll be here until 7 o’clock tonight, and then we’ll finish up tomorrow. We have the finale,” Rosenzweig said, gesturing to one cluster of shells, “and the main body over there.”
The shells range in size from 2.5 inches to 8 inches in diameter.
Pyro Engineering crews took refuge from the rain in a giant steel shipping container at the side of the barge, where they’ll be stationed to set off the display using a computerized panel system.
The container, which serves as the operating center, can sustain a blast, said Rosenweig, who has been in the business for 25 years, since he was 17.
“You’re dealing with explosives. (An accident) is always a possibility, but we take every precaution.” Robert Kronenberger, Middletown fire chief
His favorite part of the job is hearing the people cheer. “Fireworks make you happy,” Rosenweig said.
Once preparation is complete, “we’ll push the barge off and anchor it up by the channel marker out there,” Rosenweig said, pointing at the Portland side of the river.
Safety is always the utmost priority, Middletown Fire Chief Robert Kronenberger said.
“You’re dealing with explosives. (An accident) is always a possibility, but we take every precaution,” he said. “We confirm with them before they shoot off exactly how many people are on board should something happen,” he said.
The season began June 29, Rosenweig said as the men took shelter inside the container.
“We’ve been at this all week, starting at the Hartford Golf Club,” he said. Since then, the men have shuttled back and forth between the Garden State and Connecticut: From Trumbull to Fairfield to Piscataway, N.J., where they spent the Fourth of July.
The best part of each job is “you get to see what you create,” said John Waike, who is often able to watch the fireworks with the crowd once all his work is done. He takes photographs with a drone.
Most people may not be aware of the tremendous effort that takes place beforehand down at the river.
“It’s something we take very seriously. It’s a multistep process between us and the state fire marshal, who has final approval over our show,” said Kronenberger, whose marshals conduct inspections for the city.
From Friday morning through Saturday at midnight, there is a fire engine on standby, as fire and police boats patrol the water.
“As soon as we accept the product, we have the start the clock. We put a fire marshal on the scene until the end of the shoot,” Kronenberger said. “Somebody will have eyes on it the entire time,” he added.
Over all the years the city has hosted Fourth of July festivities, there haven’t been any major problems, the chief said.
“Four or five years ago, we had a small fire, which ruined the wiring for about 100 shells. That happens from time to time, because you have to remember there’s a lot of paper involved in it,” Kronenberger said. “While it wasn’t overly dangerous for the four people that were still on the barge, we had a little gap in the show and everybody was saying, ‘What’s going on?’ ”
The city was credited for the shells that didn’t explode, he added.
For the fire department, preparations begin in January — a months-long effort that’s rewarding on many levels, the chief said.
“This is one of the best events we put on. It’s cool, because we shoot from the river, so from a planning standpoint, the logistics are different from any other fireworks shoot — except for the shoreline, where they’re shooting from the Sound,” Kronenberger said.
Although many enjoy the display from the City Hall lawn, up the hill at Connecticut Valley Hospital and other locations, the majority of spectators make their way to Harbor Park to watch the show as darkness descends, where many can sit on the boardwalk along the railing for an up-close view.
“The biggest shell on the barge is 8 inches, so with an 8-inch shell, we have to have a secure zone of at least 800 feet in all directions,” the chief said. “It doesn’t really matter if we get close to the Portland shore, because that’s unoccupied. We take that security zone very seriously,” he added.
Once the fireworks reach their much-anticipated crescendo that marks the finale, and thousands of festivalgoers make their way to their cars or slowly through the pedestrian tunnel and on home, there’s still much more to do.
“After the show, everybody leaves and they’re gone within 15, 20 minutes. We’re here for another three, four hours,” said John Waike, who, with the other men, are often at work cleaning up after each fireworks display until 2 or 3 in the morning.
Middletown’s festival takes place from 5 to 10 p.m. downtown. The rain date is Sunday.
For information, visit the city’s arts office on Facebook. To find parking, see cityofmiddletown.com.