Fire & Rescue
S
'URNAL
A publication of the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
Spring 2010
Pyrotechnics Operators' Permitting Requirements
in Full Swing
During the 2009 legislative
session, the North Carolina
General Assembly passed
Senate Bill 563 and created N.C.
General Statute 58-82A-1 aimed
at preventing pyrotechnic disasters
and tragedies from occurring in
North Carolina, like the Fourth of
July explosion on Ocracoke Island
that killed four operators and
injured another last year. The new
law requires anyone discharging
or operating pyrotechnics or
proximate explosives to attend
a training course and earn a
pyrotechnics operator permit
before conducting a pyrotechnics
display in the state. Beginning
Feb. 1, all pyrotechnic operators
in North Carolina must obtain a
permit before setting off indoor or
outdoor fireworks.
“After the accident on Ocracoke
Island I was shocked to learn that
North Carolina had no permitting
process for pyrotechnic operators.
I know this was upsetting to the
public as well. That’s why OSFM
staff immediately began working
with members of the General
Assembly to craft legislation to
resolve this,” said Commissioner
Goodwin. “We believe with
this new permit, the public and
fireworks professionals will be safer
in North Carolina.”
The new law requires anyone
who uses pyrotechnic (outdoor)
or audience proximate (indoor)
fireworks to submit an application
to the Office of State Fire Marshal,
attend a safety class and score a
passing grade of 80 percent on the
permit exam. Any event on or after
Feb. 1, 2010 in North Carolina
that involves pyrotechnics should
be conducted by a properly trained
operator with a North Carolina
permit.
Permit Requirements
Depending on the operators’
needs, several permitting options
are available; each permit has its
own requirements:
»
Pyrotechnic Operator’s Permit:
Minimum 21 years of age,
AIT Letter of Clearance, six
pyrotechnic shoots (three
as lead operator), three
references, training class
(APA, PGI, or other
substantially equivalent
class), passing grade
of 80 percent on test
administered by OSFM.
»
Proximate Audience
Operator’s Permit:
Minimum 21 years of
age, six pyrotechnic
shoots (three as lead
operator), three references,
training class (OSFM approved
class), passing grade of 80
percent on test administered by
OSFM.
»
Pyrotechnic Operator’s
Assistant Permit: Minimum
1 8 years of age, ATF Letter of
Clearance, three references,
passing grade of 80 percent on
assistant’s test administered by
OSFM.
»
Proximate Audience Assistant
Operator’s Permit: Minimum
1 8 years of age, passing grade
of 80 percent on assistant’s test
administered by OSFM.
There is an application fee of
$100, which will cover the
examination and permit’s costs.
Each permit is valid for three years.
■
(Inset } A typically constructed paper mortar tube rack,
used to launch aerial shades and salutes into the air. These
are very common at fireworks demonstrations. (Above)
Detonation of the mortar rack salute shell. Taken from a
distance of 225 feet, this picture shows the shrapnel that
was later found in a radius of approximately 1 00 feet from
the detonation site. This was caused by a 3 inch salute —
one of the smallest in the 1.3 G category.
There is one additional
type of permit designed to
accommodate assistants that
have not gone through the
assistant permitting process
with OSFM. This is referred to
as “on-site certification.” This
process involves downloading
the application from OSFM’s
Web site, completing the security
questions and safety questions on
the application. The assistant then
must bring photo identification
and the application to the local
code official at the time of the
discharge site inspection. The
code official will issue an on-site
certification card to the applicant
following his review of the
application. There is no charge for
this process, but the certification
will only be valid for that show or
group of shows.
Courses Scheduled
Operators are already taking
tests and getting their permits.
The first permitting course
took place on Feb. 2, in Raleigh
and was sponsored by Zambelli
Fireworks Internationalle. Other
courses have been scheduled in
order to give operators working
on upcoming events a chance to
get permitted. To view the course
schedule, visit www.ncdoi.com/osfm
and click on the “Pyrotechnic
Operator Permitting Info.” banner
at the bottom of the page.
“We have reached out to the
pyrotechnic industry to inform
continued on page 2...
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