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Dec 30, 2023

Ryan Brotherton, pyrotechnician extraordinaire

Ryan Brotherton spends eight hours building something that lasts less than eight seconds. It sounds like a maddening endeavor, but for him, it’s a hobby. Brotherton is an award-winning, certified

Ryan Brotherton spends eight hours building something that lasts less than eight seconds. It sounds like a maddening endeavor, but for him, it’s a hobby. Brotherton is an award-winning, certified fireworks manufacturer. Over the summer, he and his teammates in the Iowa Pyrotechnics Association (IPA) team took first place in the Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI), an international competition.

Brotherton’s origin story got off the ground even before he was born.

“Mom and dad bought the property (we still have) two months before I was born,” said Suzy Glasscock, Brotherton’s aunt. Later, the family began hosting Fourth of July fireworks on their property. After Gary Brotherton returned from Vietnam and married Sally Glasscock, the displays became more prominent and elaborate.

Gary Brotherton was an electrician by trade. He served as a Seabee in Vietnam and set up communication bases for troops. “He blew up a lot of stuff,” said Glasscock. He put his niche expertise to use in every annual Glasscock Fourth of July event until he passed away in 2008 from complications with Agent Orange. After Brotherton’s passing, his sons, Ryan and Yates, took over. The tradition has continued for over 50 years and was what initially sparked Brotherton’s interest in pyrotechnics.

For most Americans, family firework shows are usually sourced from consumer fireworks, known technically as 1.4G fireworks. These fireworks are limited to less than 50 mg of flash powder (powdered aluminum or a magnesium/aluminum alloy) for ground effects and 130 mg for aerial effects. Shells may not exceed 1 ¾ inch. Fountains, cones, and firecrackers are all examples of 1.4G fireworks. With family fireworks, quantity makes up for quality.

Shortly before his father’s death, Brotherton joined the IPA and PGI. He obtained a license to use 1.3G fireworks, known as display fireworks. 1.3G fireworks contain more than the maximum amount of explosive materials allowed for 1.4G fireworks and are not for sale to the general public. Licenses are required through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF), which regulates the selling, storing, manufacturing, and use of 1.3G fireworks.

“Being a manufacturer, I have to have a type 2 ATF magazine (safe storage for explosive materials),” said Brotherton. “I have to have a place to store (fireworks and building materials). It takes a lot more than someone building something in their garage.”

From IPA and PGI meetings, Brotherton developed skills and learned more about pyrotechnics. He began building his own fireworks and used them in the family show. In 2009, he attended his first pyrotechnic convention. During the week, Brotherton attended different seminars. Then, the Glasscock show got bigger. “Now, people park on the highway to watch the fireworks,” said Glasscock.

The IPA is one of the largest fireworks clubs in the country. During the six yearly meetings, the club specializes in pyrotechnic design, theory, and safety. “Someone will volunteer to give a seminar to build a rocket, a three-inch Italian shell, or a girandola,” said Brotherton. “We have seminars on how to roll stars.”

Also available at the meetings are training, updates on National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes, and certification courses. After the meeting, the club usually has a shoot, and members light fireworks they recently made.

Once a year, the IPA hosts Boom Town, a two-day event. This year, it was at Benton County Fairgrounds in Vinton. The main event was a choreographed pyrotechnic show open to the public.

For Brotherton, the IPA is more about camaraderie than competition. “You just get recognition for showing the public the difference between a manufactured firework from China and a homemade shell,” he said.

Beyond the IPA is the PGI, founded in 1969. Current membership stands at over 1,600. Members range from people with just a passing interest to hardcore fireworks enthusiasts.

Conventions and competitions in both the IPA and PGI emphasize safety and education. “An educated shooter becomes a safer one,” said IPA on their website. Certification courses are available during meetings.

With so many varieties of fireworks: what it does (color, shape, size), when it does it (timing), where it does it (rocket, shell, or groundwork), how it does it (noise, speed, succession), the sky is quite literally the limit. Creating language to describe precisely what a homemade firework will do requires exact wording. Firework and pyrotechnic culture and vocabulary are vibrant, extensive, and ever-expanding.

Brotherton started building his own using recipes from the internet. Then, after attending conventions, he purchased books that taught him more.

“I built an aerial– level two, single break shell,” said Brotherton. Translation: An aerial is a firework that shoots flaming balls (stars) into the air after it reaches the sky. A break is an explosion. A shell is a firework enclosed with a casing, and level two indicates the shell size; in this case, four inches. So Brotherton built a four-inch firework that shot up into the air and exploded once.

Aerials require a fuse to get the firework into the air, and an internal fuse that triggers after the device reaches the sky. The firework device can contain almost any type of star in various colors.

Colors are created using different metals. “Barium is your green, copper is your blue,” explained Brotherton. “Sodium is yellow; orange is calcium, silver is magnesium, red is strontium, and white is aluminum.” Safely mixing metals has a similar effect to mixing paint. For example, combining copper (blue) and strontium (red) creates purple stars.

Builders can create different effects depending on the star and its composition. For example, a star can be a single color; it can change colors, have tails of varying shades, spread or scatter, crackle or smoke, strobe, burn fast or burn slow.

When working together, stars can create larger patterns in the sky. Popular aerial designs include peonies (whose effect looks like a colored spherical ball), willow (looks like a giant, gold willow), chrysanthemum (looks like a flower), dragon eggs (an aerial with a delayed, egg-shaped crackle effect on the tips of the firework).

The length of time a firework will stay in the air or burn depends on the size of its shell. For example, a 3-inch shell will not burn as long as a 12-inch shell.

Crafting fireworks requires a delicate balance of chemistry and physics. “There are some chemicals you don’t want to mix with others,” said Brotherton. “The rate a star burns and its intensity depends on how much oxidizer you put in. But, on the other hand, if you put too much powder in the middle of the shell, you’ll blow your stars blind. So you want to have the right burst pressure to get the maximum effect of the shell.”

Building an intricately designed firework takes time. Each step requires wrapping and drying time. Stars need to be rolled, bursts need to be created, the shell needs to be weighed, and the amounts and mixtures of powder need to be measured and placed with flawless precision.

Brotherton’s favorite fireworks to build are aerial shells. “As a builder, you know what kind of complexity is in building those shells; you have a respect for their performance,” said Brotherton. “Rockets are temperamental and hard. Usually, a rocket performs well or blows up without an in-between most of the time. It’s fascinating what some people can do with them. It inspires me.”

Once a year, PGI holds an international competition. This year, the competition was in Newton, Iowa. One thousand seven hundred people attended, and 260 pyrotechnics competed. “You can compete in anything from a rocket to a shell to a ground effect, lance work, fountains, etc.,” said Brotherton. “Anything you can think of, they usually have a category for it.”

This year was Brotherton’s first official year competing.

At PGI, competitors must use homemade fireworks built from a raw composition. “You can use manufactured fuse, but when it comes to the stars or the composition you’re using for your colors, you have to do that from start to finish,” said Brotherton.

Each firework must be labeled beforehand with a description of what the firework will do. “The more you do to it, the more you display, the higher you can score,” said Brotherton.

To ensure competitors don’t get lucky with a single firework, judges have the competitors shoot their fireworks in pairs. “Not only do they consider what you describe and how they launch, they look at your ability to repeat,” said Brotherton.

Some of the contests Brotherton triumphed in included: small mines and aerial level 2. In addition, he came in second place in small comets.

“I competed in a lot of stuff,” said Brotherton. “I competed in the best large ball shell (8-inch shell) and came in 28th place.”

Although PGI recently concluded, Brotherton reckons people already have their sights set on next summer, “People are building right now for next year. You build all year long to get ready.”

Crafting homemade fireworks is complex, lengthy work, especially for such an ephemeral product. But though the moment is fleeting, the pride lingers. “That’s what you get for your payment,” said Brotherton. “It’s not like you’re making money out of it. It feels good when they call your name, and you did better than the other 262 people.”

Brotherton desires to remain a hobbyist. Between all the licenses required for selling, transportation, and insurance, it’s better for him to keep his work personal. “I don’t do it for hire; the only thing I do it for is the family show,” said Brotherton

The family show has always been about family time, blowing stuff up, and watching fireworks. It’s not nearly as stressful as a competition. “I won’t take nearly as much time building for the Fourth of July show as something I’d be competing with,” said Brotherton. “98% of the people watching aren’t going to notice or care.”

Seeing something from start to finish brings Brotherton a sense of accomplishment. “I enjoy taking raw chemicals and making something pretty in the sky for everyone to enjoy,” he said. “The ability to say, ‘I built that,’ is cool.”

“I’ve loved fireworks all my life. It’s blowing stuff up,” said Brotherton, his father’s son. He audibly shrugged, “I love what I love.”

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