Planning a grand finale for the 4th of July

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
mireporter@mac.com

On the left is a 10-inch Chinese firework, on the right is a digital firing panel that's used to light its fuse. In the middle is Subway owner Michael Boisjoli, a pyro technician who will put those tools to work at six Independence Day celebrations this summer, including Milton and Burlington.

Milton resident Michael Boisjoli will live a pyro technician's dream shortly, orchestrating the largest fireworks display in state history over Burlington Waterfront Park on Friday, July 3.

Ironically, Boisjoli is not expecting to see much of the Independence Day celebration where he'll be firing roughly 4,000 shells.

“I typically see less than 15 percent of the display,” he said. “The display is for the customer, my responsibility is to put on a good display and I can't put on a good display if I'm staring into the sky going ooh and ah.”

“Their oohs and ahs tell me I'm doing a good job,” he added

Having been involved with the Burlington celebration the past nine years, Boisjoli said this year's version was kicked-up a notch as part of the year-long Quadricentennial of Samuel De Champlain discovering Lake Champlain.

Budgeted at roughly $40,000, the fireworks display will require more than 200 labor hours from 15 men and women. The end result of that labor is a barge filled with explosives and a trio of switch-covered panels on the harbor's breakwater, which Boisjoli will use to fire the shells during the tightly- choreographed, 30-minute display.

“It's a lot of work for a little bit of fun,” he said.

Boisjoli and his crew will do six displays between June 26 and July 4th, finishing with the Milton fireworks. He said there's a lot of 10-hour days for pryo technicians during this season, but added it's a labor of love for all involved.

Elaborating, Boisjoli said the small wages of a pyro technician are usually the biggest surprise for people who are new to the gig, saying materials and insurance eat up most of the profits. Further, Boisjoli said he and the crew volunteer to put on the show in Milton, because most of them are local and want to ensure the town gets maximum bang for its buck.

Unlike the Burlington show, Boisjoli said the majority of fireworks in Milton are hand-lit—but added it's always more satisfying to “shoot” for your hometown.

All told, Boisjoli has been a pyro technician for 16 years and credited that to a lifelong fascination with fireworks. His favorite type is “anything that goes bang or boom” (what the industry calls a Titanium Salute), and compared the job's appeal to parachuting or car racing. He said it's not about the money, but about doing something you want to do.

It also requires yearly training and regular certification by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—all for the privilege of conducting displays that the trigger-man largely doesn't see. However, Boisjoli said the job has at least one pretty cool fringe benefit.

“At the end of the display…it's a huge reward to hear the applause and see the smiles on the faces of the little kids,” he said.

“That's probably the single biggest reward of doing fireworks, is being able to please so many people,” he continued. “It's like being a rock star for a few minutes.”