Vince Terrizzi and his crew from Starfire Corp. are shown tying together shells

By Amy Cherry
Daily Press Staff

    As the skies over St. Marys light up tonight with a colorful array of fireworks, a great deal of planning and preparation has gone into the pyrotechnics display.

    Once again Starfire Corp., based in Northern Cambria, is the chosen vendor for the St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce 2008 Fireworks Celebration. This year’s show will span 25-30 minutes with emphasis on the finale.

    “We specialize in finales,” said Vince Terrizzi, Starfire co-owner. “This year’s show will have a much fuller finale with more fire in the sky and more noise. We will be using eight inch shells, the largest we feature.”

    Spectators can look forward to viewing a blend of pastel pyrotechnics with multiple shots featuring special effects such as fish, whistles and exploding stars.

    According to Terrizzi, it takes approximately four hours for himself along with a crew of eight to setup the show.

    In creating a show Terrizzi first considers the organization’s budget and the location site.

    “We have to make sure the clearances are appropriate for the specific shells the budget calls for,” he noted.

     Next Terrizzi spends about one hour creating a storyboard outlining the various types of shells. From there the shells, ranging from 2.5 to 8 inches in diameter, are tied and packed along with the equipment in a truck ready for transport.

    “I can visualize the show in the sky when I am pulling the shells for it,” he said. “I try to key in on speciality shells with a

good blend of colors, noise and effects.”

    During the straight fire regular portion of the show Terrizzi said the crew uses railroad flares to light the shell fuses.

    Show finales feature typical three inch shell with larger 4-6 inch shells shot on top of them. Titanium turns the sky white as a barrage of 5-8 inch shells will go off within a matter of seconds.

    Terrizzi explained over 90 percent of the show’s shells are imported from China, which are made to the company’s

specifications. Starfire also utilizes two U.S. vendors in New York and Minnesota.

    Vince along with his wife Jean and his son Vince, Jr. run the family owned business established in 1983. While the company is based in Northern Cambria, their warehouse is located in Carrolltown. The company employs five full-time individuals with 70 shooters available on an as needed basis.

    “I have been shooting off fireworks for 40 years. I learned to make and shoot fireworks in Buffalo. This was before 1972,

when vendors were not permitted to import them from China due to the trade embargo,” according to Terrizzi.

    He added that 90 percent of the company’s shows take place in Pennsylvania with 70 percent scheduled in the central and western part of the state. Starfire has also created displays in West Virginia, New York and Maryland.

    “We have been shooting the show in St. Marys since the late 1980’s,” noted Terrizzi.