Safety savvy

On Saturday night in Malta's Trafton Park, over a hundred people sat on the hoods of their cars, lawns chairs or simply plopped down on a tuft of grass in order to watch the Fourth of July Firework display hosted by the Malta Chamber (through donations) and the City of Malta.

What followed was a brilliant display of high-powered fireworks, which brought hoots and hollers from the crowd. However, it was more than 24-hours prior to the rockets taking flight on Independence Day that the Malta City and Phillips County Volunteer Firefighters started the grunt work and preparation for the event took place.

Malta City Fire Chief Greg Boos said he has been a member of the fire department for the past 15 years and as far back as he can remember, the Malta City and Phillips County Volunteer Firefighters have been in charge of the show on the Fourth of July.

"I remember way before I was even a part of the fire department that they were the ones to light the fireworks on the Fourth," he said. "And honestly, I don't know who else could do it safely. We have to wear our full turnouts, earplugs, you name it. These aren't little firecrackers we are lighting off."

A good example of the danger involved in lighting the high-dollar works was on display on Saturday night at Trafton when a rocket was lit, left it's tube and exploded 20-yards over the heads of the firemen, shooting sparks everywhere and starting a small grass fire just west of the staging area.

"It can be a dangerous deal," said Chief Boos on Friday. "Sometimes we get some low flyers."

Following their meeting on Friday night, the fire crews headed down to Trafton Park with a truckload of mortar tubes, handfuls of spades and shovels and about 20 members in tow. The objective of the night was to sink nearly 40 tubes securely in the ground as holders for Saturday night's show. The tubes ranged from 3-inch to 6-inch in diameter (no 8-inch tubes this year) and housed the $3,000 worth of fireworks that lasted around 20-minutes the night of the Fourth.

To assist with sinking the holes, Jim Knudsen brought his backhoe and a huge bit to assist in making the digging a little easier.

"We'd like to thank Jim for always showing up to help," Chief Boos said.

The firefighters split into crews on the night with two members working to light the fireworks, five members loading the fireworks and then a crew underneath a tarp sorting and handing out the explosives.

"It is a lot of fun, but we are very careful," Chief Boos said.