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Feeney's night job explosive
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| READY ... AIM -- Paul Feeney prepares electronic firing machines just prior to shooting a show in West Dennis Beach in August of 2007. (Submitted photo) |
Selectman, also a pyrotechnics pro, looks forward to July 4
By Frank Mortimer
Sure, selectman Paul Feeney and a colleague got into a sizzling scrap last week.
But neither really blew his top.
However, Feeney does plan to do just that over the Fourth of July weekend -- and he couldn't be happier.
His performance will, no doubt, light up hundreds of other faces as well.
Feeney, whose day job is with Verizon, has a long and thrilling history of night-owling as a licensed pyrotechnician.
In plain English, a fireworks man.
He went straight to the top for his early training -- working one of the most famous and widely watched fireworks display of all, in Boston...
Sky's the limit
"I can remember begging my parents to take me to fireworks shows when I was young. In fact, I would always hope to get there early and sit as close to the fence as I could so I could watch the crew prepare for the show," Feeney said via email.
"I was always fascinated with the art of pyrotechnics, more than the science. Prior to getting involved in shooting fireworks professionally, I became a student of the craft by studying various aspects of fireworks displays."
At 17, he landed his first job in the industry, as an apprentice with a company called Pyrotechnology in Boston. Summer was fast approaching, and the fourth of July only weeks away when a boss asked him to join his team in shooting a fireworks display.
"Great," Feeney recalled saying. "Which show will I be doing with you guys?"
"The Boston Esplanade on the Fourth of July," came the reply.
The boy's emotions soared.
"I was thrilled to be a part of Boston's Fourth of July tradition for four years," Feeney said of his work from 1996 to 1999.
When Pyrotechnology stopped doing the Boston show in 2000, he went to work with Atlas Pyrovision Productions in Jaffrey N.H.
He became licensed as a "competent operator" in Massachusetts in 2002 after meeting certain requirements, being vouched for by two other licensed pyrotechnicians, and passing a written exam.
Showtime
This 4th of July will be a first for him, in that he will not be out on a barge.
Instead, he will be shooting fireworks at the Brockton Fair.
The shows were scheduled to start last night (July 1), and continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as July 11.
His season started last weekend, as he shot a show immediately following the Brockton Rox baseball game. It continued on Saturday in Braintree -- but that show was ultimately postponed to Sunday because of fog. "It went off Sunday without a hitch, except for the rain that began to fall just prior to the finale," he said.
This year, as in years past, he takes a week's vacation from his job with Verizon to work on the fireworks displays.
"My job as a pyrotechnician is a labor of love that I would be disappointed without," he said.
In addition to shooting Brockton, and Braintree this year, he has been involved in shooting fireworks in many locations, including Hyannis, Orleans, Falmouth, Marion, Plymouth, Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Westwood, Franklin, Onset Beach, Methuen and West Dennis Beach.
Close calls
Despite the hazards associated with the job, he has not had many close calls while shooting fireworks, Feeney said.
"We are extremely careful to employ safety measures that minimize the risk on a display site. The electric ignition currently being used in most displays makes it a whole lot safer as well."
He has, however, found himself close to aerial shells that are exploding upward from pipes that are only feet away in a unplanned "low break."
These are rare however, and have never left him with any serious injuries. Crew members are required to wear long sleeve shirts, long, cotton pants, a hard hat, safety glasses, and ear protection.
"Being showered with colored sparks or 'stars' leaves you momentarily frozen, but as they say, the show must go on," Feeney said. "Ironically, it seems that most audiences really enjoy these low breaks and cheer wildly after they explode."
But neither really blew his top.
However, Feeney does plan to do just that over the Fourth of July weekend -- and he couldn't be happier.
His performance will, no doubt, light up hundreds of other faces as well.
Feeney, whose day job is with Verizon, has a long and thrilling history of night-owling as a licensed pyrotechnician.
In plain English, a fireworks man.
He went straight to the top for his early training -- working one of the most famous and widely watched fireworks display of all, in Boston...
Sky's the limit
"I can remember begging my parents to take me to fireworks shows when I was young. In fact, I would always hope to get there early and sit as close to the fence as I could so I could watch the crew prepare for the show," Feeney said via email.
"I was always fascinated with the art of pyrotechnics, more than the science. Prior to getting involved in shooting fireworks professionally, I became a student of the craft by studying various aspects of fireworks displays."
At 17, he landed his first job in the industry, as an apprentice with a company called Pyrotechnology in Boston. Summer was fast approaching, and the fourth of July only weeks away when a boss asked him to join his team in shooting a fireworks display.
"Great," Feeney recalled saying. "Which show will I be doing with you guys?"
"The Boston Esplanade on the Fourth of July," came the reply.
The boy's emotions soared.
"I was thrilled to be a part of Boston's Fourth of July tradition for four years," Feeney said of his work from 1996 to 1999.
When Pyrotechnology stopped doing the Boston show in 2000, he went to work with Atlas Pyrovision Productions in Jaffrey N.H.
He became licensed as a "competent operator" in Massachusetts in 2002 after meeting certain requirements, being vouched for by two other licensed pyrotechnicians, and passing a written exam.
Showtime
This 4th of July will be a first for him, in that he will not be out on a barge.
Instead, he will be shooting fireworks at the Brockton Fair.
The shows were scheduled to start last night (July 1), and continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as July 11.
His season started last weekend, as he shot a show immediately following the Brockton Rox baseball game. It continued on Saturday in Braintree -- but that show was ultimately postponed to Sunday because of fog. "It went off Sunday without a hitch, except for the rain that began to fall just prior to the finale," he said.
This year, as in years past, he takes a week's vacation from his job with Verizon to work on the fireworks displays.
"My job as a pyrotechnician is a labor of love that I would be disappointed without," he said.
In addition to shooting Brockton, and Braintree this year, he has been involved in shooting fireworks in many locations, including Hyannis, Orleans, Falmouth, Marion, Plymouth, Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Westwood, Franklin, Onset Beach, Methuen and West Dennis Beach.
Close calls
Despite the hazards associated with the job, he has not had many close calls while shooting fireworks, Feeney said.
"We are extremely careful to employ safety measures that minimize the risk on a display site. The electric ignition currently being used in most displays makes it a whole lot safer as well."
He has, however, found himself close to aerial shells that are exploding upward from pipes that are only feet away in a unplanned "low break."
These are rare however, and have never left him with any serious injuries. Crew members are required to wear long sleeve shirts, long, cotton pants, a hard hat, safety glasses, and ear protection.
"Being showered with colored sparks or 'stars' leaves you momentarily frozen, but as they say, the show must go on," Feeney said. "Ironically, it seems that most audiences really enjoy these low breaks and cheer wildly after they explode."
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ask wrote on Jul 2, 2009 11:52 AM: