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From Pipes and Shells to ...
Left: Bombs bursting in air including the red, white and blue condensed "cakes" toward the bottom. Above, Melissa Gainsley, right, and her crew preparing the fireworks display. In the background is Deputy Fire Marshal Scott Belleville. More photos on page 4. Linda Lemmon photos.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — When she was 4 and living in Waterford, Melissa Gainsley’s family went to see the fireworks. Was she interested in the noises and the sprays of colors? No. She was fascinated by the people setting them off and how it all worked. At 4!
Fast forward and she was at the controls of Putnam’s Fourth of July Extravaganza July 9.
The only female in Connecticut with a certificate of competency, she works for Atlas Pyrotechnics and has been in charge of Putnam’s fireworks for many years — she started at the site in Putnam when she was 17. That was 18 years ago.
She has a special place in her heart for Putnam. She enjoys working with the fire officials including the fire marshal and “it’s such a wonderful community to work with.”
The 25-minute show, which wowed a crowd of about 10,000, according to Wilfred Bousquet, Putnam’s Parks and Recreation director, included 1,024 shells. And 16 “cakes” which are low altitude condensed explosives.
The finale included 483 3-inch shells, 180 2 ½ inch shells and 90 4-inch shells.
Gainsley said she likes to change it up. “I can’t do the same show every time,” she said. She includes "little dips here and there" for the drama.
The HDPE, high density polyethylene, pipes are carefully filled with tan paper wrapped balls that contain the color sand explosives. Gainsley said that the HDPE pipes absorb an explosion that might happen to occur before the balls leave the pipe. “If the shell happens to go off, this pipe will absorb most of it instead of it sending shrapnel everywhere,” she said.
Most of the shells are electronically fired.
Bousquet said the celebration went very well. “It was a nice night.” He added the downtown restaurants were slammed with business, in restaurant and take-out. Besides filling Rotary Park, where there was music, vendors and inflatables, crowds were spread out all over to watch the fireworks.
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Whiskey Boulevard band
The shells are set off electronically.
Comfortable on the Bridge Street bridge, waiting for darkness
Some members of the Putnam Lions Club Leos Club helping out
Putnam Mayor Barney Seney and his wife, recently retired Town Clerk Sara Seney.
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