Dick Hogle has lived in Santa Fe since 1979. He is the owner of Hogle’s Theatrical Supplies, Inc and runs the city’s July 4 fireworks display at Santa Fe High School. Entrance is $1 per person, parking is $5 per car. Proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Fe; fireworks start just before 9 pm.

SFR: How long have you been performing with fireworks?
DH: I started in 1974. I was asked by a museum in Florida to shoot fireworks behind the models at an Oscar de la Renta photo shoot. After the first time, they said I was a natural and I started working for Zambelli Fireworks and did all the shows at the Orange Bowl from that time on. I did them in Miami Beach off a barge and then when I moved out here they sent me to Shreveport, La., every year to do a big show with the symphony. Then I got blown up in 1982.

What happened?
That wasn’t a lot of fun. A shell went off coming out of the gun and I had one of those out of body experiences, where I’m in the air looking down at my body below me on the ground. [Laughs] That was pretty neat though.

Did you take some time off after that?
No. I went out the next year and did it again. The fireworks, not the blowing myself up. In those days I fired them by hand with railroad flares, but after I got blown up I went out and bought myself an electric firing system.

Were there any permanent injuries?
Sure. The eardrum in my right ear was destroyed. I had surgery to have it rebuilt in Shreveport, but that was a long time ago and they can’t really do much about it now. I also hurt my right shoulder really bad, but I’m lucky. I didn’t end up missing any parts.

How did you get involved with the shows in Santa Fe?
I started working for a company called Western Enterprises. We did some shows at the horse track and started working with the city on their yearly show. Zambelli wouldn’t do anything under $100,000 and this was only $25,000, so that’s how I got hooked up with Western.

Why did you want to start doing something so dangerous, like fireworks?
I’ve never been satisfied doing a normal job. I play music and have my theatrical supply company too. But I get paid to blow stuff up—for movies and the fireworks. It’s every little boy’s dream.

How do you get prepared to put on a show?
There’s a crew of 10, along with myself and my son, that sets up and wires the whole show. We’ve got some 3,000 shells to prepare. The show is choreographed to music on a CD, so we don’t have to worry about that, but it takes about four to five hours to set the guns in the ground. We’ll start setting up at 6 am on the Fourth and keep going right up until firing time.

What happens if it rains?
There’s no rain date here, but we can shoot in mild rain. We’ll cover all the shells with plastic or tin foil to keep them dry. They can shoot right through that kind of cover. The wind is more of a problem than rain. If the wind is over 15 mph we can’t shoot. There are too many houses nearby.

Do you get to enjoy the show while working on it?
Oh yeah. I’ve got the best seat in the house. My son and I trade off every year sitting right under the firing console. Some of the sparks rain down right around us—it doesn’t hurt—and I can see everything.

What’s the cleanup like?
It takes about as long as setting up. The guns get loaded back in the truck and taken to Española where we store them. We clean out any residue that’s left. But the fun part is that if any shells are left over we shoot them off that next night.

You’re licensed for high explosives; does that mean little things like sparklers and black cats are below you?
No way are they below me. Every winter I do a little fireworks display for my family with the small stuff. They’re really more dangerous though. You shoot ’em and you’re not sure where they’re going to go.

What kind of safety is involved?
The fire department is outside our perimeter. We’re pretty much on our own. All my guys are trained in fire safety and suppression and we’ve got water-charged fire extinguishers everywhere.

When people find out that you shoot fireworks professionally what is there first reaction?
Everyone asks, ‘Can I do it with you?’

So, can I?
I’m all set for this year.

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on Santa Fe Reporter