Will it fit?

[Arles]

Hello,

I'd like to begin using smaller 1.3 shells for my 'backyard' firework displays and am wondering if I have enough space to do so safely before pursuing my ATF license.

I have about 7 acres on an odd shaped parcel that I suppose provides adequate distances from spectators, my home, and my neighbors applying the 70' per inch of shell guidance for 3" rounds.

I have been mostly firing my 1.4 stuff from spot A. Would the distance to the line of large pine trees that borders one side of the property and owned by my neighbor be a factor that would need to be considered (approx 150') ? (My neighbors approve of my fireworks)

Moving it to B would get me further from everyone's houses, but close to my barn (nobody living in there, metal roof) and the surrounding woods. Would B or somewhere in that area be too close to the barn or woods? Things could certainly be dry around the 4th. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

5525

[PyroKing31]

Both sites work however I would add a caveat to Site B. I would angle, slightly the 3" guns away from the woods. and be mindful of wind direction and strength.

I have worked professional shows adjacent to woods and those are the precautions we utilize. Its about Risk Management and having water cans on site and available IF anything goes awry.

Site A is certainly an easier shoot site but I would add that any 1.3 would need to stay as vertical as possible. A 3" shell can have well over 100 ft break radius and fallout depending on wind varies. My neighbors at our water shoot site love the fireworks too but don't appreciate the debris as much.

[BMoore]

I see two unknown factors here. Where are your spectators and where do they park? My shoot site is very similar to yours. In my case we use tape to corral the spectators behind the house and parking takes place in rows along the driveway adjacent to your site A. Therefore, to give the spectators the best line of sight and to get as far away from potential property damage as possible I shoot from site B. If you had a smaller crowd that you could confine to the concrete pad and park the cars away from the shoot site then site A would be ideal. I've found that if there is a house it is very difficult keeping your crowd anyplace that doesn't have access to the house.

[Arles]

I see two unknown factors here. Where are your spectators and where do they park? My shoot site is very similar to yours. In my case we use tape to corral the spectators behind the house and parking takes place in rows along the driveway adjacent to your site A. Therefore, to give the spectators the best line of sight and to get as far away from potential property damage as possible I shoot from site B. If you had a smaller crowd that you could confine to the concrete pad and park the cars away from the shoot site then site A would be ideal. I've found that if there is a house it is very difficult keeping your crowd anyplace that doesn't have access to the house.


Spectators would be on the left end dot in front of the house, assuming shooting from A, and some of the neighbors typically stand way out in the neighbors driveway. I typically put the long plastic folding tables in front of the firing areas so that there is at least some type of barrier in the event a cake or rack blew apart.

There would typically be only be a handful of cars that would park to the left of the barn in the driveway.

Thanks for the feedback from all.

[specialfxpyro]

You should be fine, here's my 2 cents for what it's worth.


If the line from your house to point A equals 257' you are cutting it close to the neighbors house. Personally I prefer 100' per inch whenever possible. The biggest danger isn't really a few stars getting to close to the neighbors house. It's a round tripper that catches an upper level wind and gets pushed towards the neighbors house. Round trippers rarely land close to the tube they were fired from even on a night with no wind.

After a professional show we are required to do a first light inspection of the shoot site for duds. I have found shells (duds) 100's feet from where they were shot and in all directions. It's pretty easy to account for all your 3" shells when they are fired 1 at a time. Finale chains are another story and duds are more common than they should be. If you shoot any finale chains, do a first light inspection covering a radius of 300' minimum from where the shells were shot. If someone hits a dud with a lawnmower they will have a real bad day.

On your site I'd probably put my 1.4 where the middle dot on your lines is, in line with the pond. Put the audience 150' back from there towards the driveway entrance. I'd be fine with shooting 3' or 4" shells near the back corner of the pool between the house and barn, if there are no houses within 300' of that area. Also you can have a garden hose at the ready without needing 300' of hose.

If all your 3" shells are going straight up put your racks side by side with no spacing and use some big ratchet straps to hold them together. The ratchet straps will keep everything upright in the event of a cato. I've worked on several shows where our finale racks were ratchet strapped together and we had a cato in a 500 shell finale. The racks didn't move. As long as you are not using finale chains a cato doesn't present a huge danger. The burn time on the stars is very short lived. 99% of the time we have a fire in a tree line it's the dead debris on the ground that catches fire. By far the most common fires on a 1.3 or 1.4 show is a cake fire. It's also easy to start a fire on the ground near the racks if the grass is dead. 1.3 shells will drop a certain amount of flaming debris on the ground around the racks. Normally pieces of quickmatch from the shells.

Live trees normally don't catch fire very easily. However dead pine needles, leaves and small sticks laying on the ground under those trees do catch fire easily. If you can't clean out and dry dead debris under the trees then soaking them down with the hose before the show will give you a little insurance.

[Arles]

Great information and insight, thanks!

[Scotty Rockets]

Get yourself a copy of the NFPA1123 most of your questions would be answered. You should have a copy anyhow if you want to play with the professional fireworks.

[displayfireworks1]

Just because you obtain an ATF license does not mean you need to purchase 10 inch shells. Start with some Thunder Kings and/or smaller 1.3 cakes and see how it goes from there. Here is where working part time for a display company teaches you so much. You can see how this product behaves and is set up in relationship to the audience etc. Get the ATF license and start to purchase smaller 1.3 items.

[specialfxpyro]

Free access to NFPA 1123


https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=1123

[Arles]

Free access to NFPA 1123


https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=1123

Thanks all, and thanks for the link!