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Wherever the bombs burst in air, they're likely to rain red, white and blue as revelers celebrate the first Fourth of July since Sept. 11.
By CANDACE RONDEAUX
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 3, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- Patriotism is hotter than a cheap firecracker on this Fourth of July.
This year fireworks companies are busily filling thousands of orders for sizzling 12-foot-tall Statues of Liberty, fiery 50- by 100-foot flags and boatloads of burning Liberty Bells.
Fireworks companies say they've been inundated with requests for extra patriotic displays in the wake of Sept. 11.
"A lot of people are saying, 'What can we do special this year for Sept. 11?' About 70, 75 percent of people who called asked for something red, white and blue," said Victor Laurenza, a marketing specialist with Pyrotecnico, a Pennsylvania-based fireworks producer with offices in Tampa.
"Last year you had maybe 50 percent of the calls asking for more patriotic fireworks."
In St. Petersburg, event organizers will honor those lost in the attacks with a moment of silence. Then red, white and blue fireworks will go off during the show about 9 p.m. this Thursday. The show will cost $25,000.
Around the Tampa Bay area, police say they'll be more vigilant, though they don't plan to increase their presence. St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Rick Stelljes said officers will not conduct personal searches.
"We'll be a little bit more vigilant, a little bit more observant," said Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Gordon Brown. "(But) we're definitely not afraid of anything."
The high level of interest in patriotic fireworks displays is likely to be matched by record crowds.
St. Petersburg city officials estimate that close to 100,000 people will view the 25-minute show along the waterfront. They expect up to 8,000 people to gather in Straub Park where a performance stage, food vendors, games and an inflatable moonwalk will be set up.
As in recent years, weather will be a concern this Fourth of July -- but for different reasons than in the past. Recent rains around the area mean organizers fear not brushfires but thunderstorms. Lightning marred St. Petersburg's celebration last year.
St. Petersburg officials are being extra cautious about the weather this year after receiving numerous complaints from residents last summer. Leisure services director Lee Metzger said the city and event co-sponsors Clear Channel Communication's Mix 100.7 FM plan to run regular weather reports and updates on the fireworks show schedule on WMXT 100.7 FM and WFLA 970 AM.
There will be no rain date this year. City officials could start the show as early as 8:30 p.m., but the show will be canceled if bad weather interferes with the show past 10 p.m.
Philip Butler, a fireworks producer for Fireworks by Grucci Inc., one of the country's oldest pyrotechnic producers, says Grucci usually keeps at least 18 months worth of supplies on hand at its headquarters in Brookhaven, N.Y. But Butler acknowledges that record demand this year will likely take a bite out of the company's tri-color stock.
"I've been selling fireworks for 30 years," he says, "and I've never seen anything like this year.
"I suspect that if there was ever a year that somebody might run out of red, white, and blue, this would be the year," he said.
While hearts may beat extra true for the red, white and blue this year, most of the fireworks will not be made in America.
In fact, much of the blue pulsing in the air this week will come from China or, in rare cases, Japan or Germany.
"There are some countries such as Germany that are known for there more metallic shades of blue," Heckman said. "It's the hardest color to make."
According to Butler the best royal blue comes from a delicate mix of copper chloride and copper arsenic sulfide, which is poisonous. Copper arsenic is especially dangerous because the vast majority of fireworks are mixed by hand, he says.
Jim Souza, president of Pyro Spectaculars Inc., a California-based fireworks producer, said his company upped its inventory of specialty patriotic items earlier this year. He said demand for set pieces shaped like flags and freedom ribbons increased by 25 percent. But he and others in the industry were more than ready for the onslaught.
"We certainly anticipated that we would have an increase of orders. We have increased manufacturing orders since Sept. 11," Souza said.
The wave of patriotic sentiment could prove a boon for America's kings of kaboom. According to figures compiled by the American Pyrotechnics Association, a national trade group for the fireworks industry, companies took in $650-million from more than 161.6-million pounds of fireworks used in 2001.
Julie Heckman, the association's executive director, estimates industry revenues could rise as high as $750-million this year.