Revisited for my new tblog community

We're back from Santa Maria unscathed for the most part......well, almost; more on that in a moment. 10:00 AM Wednesday morning the Fire Marshall arrived to inspect our show site, the set up, mortar racks, the multi-shot devices (cakes) and to see our paperwork. We have a pretty good report with the fire department. A couple of our racks were set more then the 2% angle and we were able to justify our setting due to the amount of wind that we were experiencing and having the ability to BS our way through it.

They were satisfied with our set up and said that they would see us tonight and they left the Fairplex. We then loaded the mortar racks, set out the cakes and ran quick fuse to the cakes. Quick fuse is a super fast fuse and should only be handled by well trained or the dim witted due to it's dangerous make up.

After we got done setting up we informed security that we would return at 5:00PM and to hold down the fort. We went back to the hotel and I donned my super sexy swimming trunks and hit the pool a running. My wife's nephew and niece followed suit and we plashed around for a few hours and it was time to get back to the Fairplex and have a barbeque and rest up before the big shoot.

After the delicious barbeque the fire department arrived with two fire trucks just incase. We all went over the plans and everyone new what was expected. We had my wife and a friend shooting of the multi shot devises; aka cakes/show in a box, my mother in law and her brother in law were shooting of the 3 inch mortars and I had all of the 4 inch mortars to myself, yeah baby!

The time came and the show began without a hitch, the spectators were ohing and ahing at the appropriate spots. A reminder, this show is all hand fire which means you are up close and personal with these high explosive fireworks. The second 4 inch shell that I cooked off covered my safety glasses in a shroud of black powder and I couldn't see anything. I quickly cleaned my lenses and got back in the game. 10 minutes later I was launched a 4 inch shell and the casing broke away early, what I saw was a bright flash and what felt like a horse kicking me in the jaw. I regained my composure and finished the row of 4 inch shells and every so often my father in law who was orchestrating the show had to come over and pat out the fire that was on my back....fire, fire, fire!

My back still smoldering, my jaw hurting like all get out we all go over to the grand finale and it goes up beautifully.

After the show, I conduct a safety check of the area to ensure that all of the fireworks have been deployed and once I give the all clear I assess my damages which resulted in a slight swollen jaw, left eyelashes are a little crispy, my mustache and goatee are little fried too. All in all, it was a good shoot and no one got banged up to bad other then myself which I will recover fully, I love this stuff.

Today we got back weary but satisfied..............

 

 

Written in the Santa Maria Times:

 

**********Some Santa Marians resorted to setting off fireworks in their front yards - and some even further, into the streets - where passing cars slowed, waiting for fogs of smoke to clear before safely proceeding.

Observers speculated that the streets contained more sparks and flashes of light than even the skies over the Fairpark, where one family from Clovis arrived to set off the city's annual show.

Larry Jensen and his family of pyrotechnicians, decked out in long-sleeve sweaters and jackets, arrived minutes before beginning to set off thousands of lights into the air.

Jensen counted 35 multishot devices, 320 aerial shells and 60 racks, filled with enough powder to orchestrate a 30-minute show. "That's a lot," he said.

With Jensen at the command for the show, the rest of the "igniters" included his wife Carolie, his daughter, Jennifer Ketterman and husband Kenneth, family friend Jassen Chute and Richard "Uncle Dickie" Jensen.

Kenneth Ketterman calls the presentation "an organized chaos" because of its loud, battle-like feeling at the source of ignition.

 

Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez@santamariatimes.com

July 5, 2007