Backyard fireworks gain power, popularity

For backyard patriots, the rockets available this Fourth of July are flashier, more creative and louder than ever before.

Thanks to an increase in the legal limit of the amount of pyrotechnic material allowed in consumer fireworks, a whole new class of recreational explosive has become available to amateur enthusiasts, said Harry Chang of Black Cat Fireworks Inc.

At the same time, the use of backyard fireworks has more than doubled since 2000, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. That has caused concern among some public safety groups that the rise in both popularity and firepower could prove a combustible mix.

"It's like how Giorgio Armani might develop a pair of jeans that the average person could never have, but eventually lesser designers come out with their own versions," Chang said. "Over the years, smaller, safer versions of professional fireworks have trickled down to consumers."

Julie Heckman, executive director of the pyrotechnic industry group, credits the growing popularity of fireworks to a rise in patriotism after the millennium celebrations followed by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Last year, Americans used 280 million pounds of display and backyard fireworks, nearly 10 times the amount used in 1976, the year that Heckman said "put the firework industry on the map" with America's bicentennial celebrations.

Backyard pyrotechnicians can find fireworks in a wide variety of colors, including magenta, lemonade and the difficult-to-create deep blue, along with effects that were once the sole purview of professionals, such as rockets that burst into bow ties, stars and happy faces.

Looser laws have also had some effect. Five states have opened to fireworks or relaxed laws since 2000, Heckman said, though Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island still ban them completely out of safety concerns.

Pyrotechnician John Steinberg has put on displays at Little League games, weddings and a celebration of the full moon.

"I've shot them off of barges, cliffs, rooftops, in cities, out of fields," said the Baltimore resident, who has put on shows for about 20 years.

For him, it's a chance to inspire fans to try putting match to fuse.

"I enjoy opening up fireworks to people," he said. "They have been a part of our history since [John] Adams wrote that the Fourth of July should be celebrated with 'bonfires and illuminations.'"