Leave it to the pros or you might blow yourself up
By John Quinlan Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, July 03, 2008
When it comes to fireworks, it's best to leave it to the pros.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 21,000 fireworks-related injuries were treated in hospitals, doctor's offices, clinics and emergency rooms in 2007. Children under 17 accounted for for about 11,000 of those injuries.
"Fireworks can be used safely by trained adults, but illegal firecrackers or ones that are used improperly present substantial risks," said Dr. Clifford Jones, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in trauma and a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' Leadership Fellows Program. "If fireworks misfire or explode prematurely, the extreme force can tear or destroy bone tissue and nerves, causing permanent damage to the body."
So that is where people like Don Lantis come in.
Lantis, 67, owner/operator of Lantis Fireworks in North Sioux City, has been shooting off fireworks, spectacular public displays, all of his life, and his family has been doing it since 1945.
Lantis, his sister and four brothers run various non-fireworks-related business divisions of the family enterprise and the fireworks business that stretches across the American West. His retail and display fireworks territory is Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. He also handles the family's plumbing division.
"We probably shoot 60 percent of the Vegas shows. I do the Dunes. We do McCook Lake, Whiting, Iowa. They haven't called yet, but they call every year. And then we do the Explorers, naturally. And we do the Saltdogs down in Lincoln. And then we do the Vegas shows. We do probably like 400 alone in the Salt Lake area," he said.
The two-day fireworks displays July 4 and 5 after the Explorers baseball games at Lewis and Clark Park are " my baby," Lantis said.
"I never shoot the same show. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what I'm going to shoot yet," he said a week before the annual Fourth of July fireworks displays for the Explorers. "I have so many different shells, so many different cakes, I never shoot the same show. I don't even shoot the same show in Lincoln."
Lantis dispatches seasoned crews to many of the company's big shows, but he insists on personally setting off the huge weekend displays for the Explorers. And these days, he doesn't have to worry so much about falling debris or burned hands from lighting those quick fuses. "We don't do anything hand-fired any more," he said.
For about 20 years, everything has been computerized, with all the fireworks squibbed and set off from a distance, Lantis said, showing off his firing system boxes, including a $5,000 Night Hawk Firing System box that looks like it could handle a Martian invasion.
"There's different codes and frequencies that you plug in. And then this one here, I can be a thousand feet away flip the switch and boom! It's fireworks," he said, though noting that is still an extremely dangerous business.
It takes about three days to put all the squibs in the cakes and shells required for a show the size of the two Exploprers shows. But the new technology still makes it easier since they no longer have to run wires to all the cakes and shells. "When your equipment's good, there's less chance of failure," he said.
Which doesn't mean bad things don't happen. He recalled a River-Cade fireworks display 15 to 20 years ago which caused him no end of embarrassment. The computer went down, and it seemed to take forever to find an alternate means to set off the display, he said. The computer systems are simply too expensive to have a back-up for every show, he noted.
While the Lantis brothers shoot off fireworks all year long, even providing a show for the Iditarod Trail sled dog race in Alaska, Don Lantis personally avoids the outdoor cold weather displays.
"I shoot shows all summer long, but I don't like it. I'm 67. I'm getting too old to go out in this area and freeze my tail off," he said, laughing heartily after recalling a New Year's Eve show he did in serious subzero weather at midnight in Sioux City a few years ago.
One thing you'll notice at any of his displays is that there is always something in the air. "I hate dead sky," he said. "If there isn't a shell in the sky all the time, I get mad."
So if a potential client requests some dead time to make a display last longer, he's not going to be a client, he said.
As for holiday fun, Lantis really loves the 4th of July.
"It's something the whole family can do, and you're there from noon until 11 o'clock at night. There isn't any other holiday like it in the whole stupid year," he said, pointing to the forced togetherness many share with their in-laws for about four hours max on some of those other holidays.
Take care with fireworks
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends the following safety guidelines for trained adults who choose to use fireworks:
-- Check with your local police department to determine if fireworks can be discharged legally in your area. If so, determine which types are legal.
-- Never buy illegal fireworks. The quality cannot be assured.
-- Only adults should light fireworks.
-- Never hold lighted fireworks.
-- Never allow young children to play with or go near fireworks, including sparklers. They seem harmless but sparklers can reach temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees.
-- Never play with fireworks if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 21,000 fireworks-related injuries were treated in hospitals, doctor's offices, clinics and emergency rooms in 2007. Children under 17 accounted for for about 11,000 of those injuries.
"Fireworks can be used safely by trained adults, but illegal firecrackers or ones that are used improperly present substantial risks," said Dr. Clifford Jones, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in trauma and a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' Leadership Fellows Program. "If fireworks misfire or explode prematurely, the extreme force can tear or destroy bone tissue and nerves, causing permanent damage to the body."
So that is where people like Don Lantis come in.
Lantis, 67, owner/operator of Lantis Fireworks in North Sioux City, has been shooting off fireworks, spectacular public displays, all of his life, and his family has been doing it since 1945.
Lantis, his sister and four brothers run various non-fireworks-related business divisions of the family enterprise and the fireworks business that stretches across the American West. His retail and display fireworks territory is Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. He also handles the family's plumbing division.
"We probably shoot 60 percent of the Vegas shows. I do the Dunes. We do McCook Lake, Whiting, Iowa. They haven't called yet, but they call every year. And then we do the Explorers, naturally. And we do the Saltdogs down in Lincoln. And then we do the Vegas shows. We do probably like 400 alone in the Salt Lake area," he said.
The two-day fireworks displays July 4 and 5 after the Explorers baseball games at Lewis and Clark Park are " my baby," Lantis said.
"I never shoot the same show. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what I'm going to shoot yet," he said a week before the annual Fourth of July fireworks displays for the Explorers. "I have so many different shells, so many different cakes, I never shoot the same show. I don't even shoot the same show in Lincoln."
Lantis dispatches seasoned crews to many of the company's big shows, but he insists on personally setting off the huge weekend displays for the Explorers. And these days, he doesn't have to worry so much about falling debris or burned hands from lighting those quick fuses. "We don't do anything hand-fired any more," he said.
For about 20 years, everything has been computerized, with all the fireworks squibbed and set off from a distance, Lantis said, showing off his firing system boxes, including a $5,000 Night Hawk Firing System box that looks like it could handle a Martian invasion.
"There's different codes and frequencies that you plug in. And then this one here, I can be a thousand feet away flip the switch and boom! It's fireworks," he said, though noting that is still an extremely dangerous business.
It takes about three days to put all the squibs in the cakes and shells required for a show the size of the two Exploprers shows. But the new technology still makes it easier since they no longer have to run wires to all the cakes and shells. "When your equipment's good, there's less chance of failure," he said.
Which doesn't mean bad things don't happen. He recalled a River-Cade fireworks display 15 to 20 years ago which caused him no end of embarrassment. The computer went down, and it seemed to take forever to find an alternate means to set off the display, he said. The computer systems are simply too expensive to have a back-up for every show, he noted.
While the Lantis brothers shoot off fireworks all year long, even providing a show for the Iditarod Trail sled dog race in Alaska, Don Lantis personally avoids the outdoor cold weather displays.
"I shoot shows all summer long, but I don't like it. I'm 67. I'm getting too old to go out in this area and freeze my tail off," he said, laughing heartily after recalling a New Year's Eve show he did in serious subzero weather at midnight in Sioux City a few years ago.
One thing you'll notice at any of his displays is that there is always something in the air. "I hate dead sky," he said. "If there isn't a shell in the sky all the time, I get mad."
So if a potential client requests some dead time to make a display last longer, he's not going to be a client, he said.
As for holiday fun, Lantis really loves the 4th of July.
"It's something the whole family can do, and you're there from noon until 11 o'clock at night. There isn't any other holiday like it in the whole stupid year," he said, pointing to the forced togetherness many share with their in-laws for about four hours max on some of those other holidays.
Take care with fireworks
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends the following safety guidelines for trained adults who choose to use fireworks:
-- Check with your local police department to determine if fireworks can be discharged legally in your area. If so, determine which types are legal.
-- Never buy illegal fireworks. The quality cannot be assured.
-- Only adults should light fireworks.
-- Never hold lighted fireworks.
-- Never allow young children to play with or go near fireworks, including sparklers. They seem harmless but sparklers can reach temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees.
-- Never play with fireworks if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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Gregory wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:39 PM:
Better leave coffee drinking to the pros or you might explode.
Statistics are effective when used properly. "