ASK A PROFESSIONAL: Who has the best fireworks show?

“The bigger the boom, the better they like it.”

That’s how Ottawa Jaycees Fourth of July fireworks display chairman Rick Furst described the likes and dislikes of Franklin County residents when it comes to fireworks.

“The bigger the mortar, the bigger the explosion and the higher it goes,” Furst said. “We put up as many 6-inch mortars as we can afford.”

Furst said the Jaycees use 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-inch mortars and multi-shot cakes. The shells are hand-lit and shot from steel pipes set in sand barriers so the pipes won’t tip.

The multi-shot cakes are several smaller shells strung together with fuse. They are discharged the same as shells.

Mortar sizes go all the way to 10 inches, but anything bigger than a 6-inch shell has to be lit electronically.

“For safety issues and manpower purposes, I’d love to go electronic,” Furst said. “But it’s just not financially feasible. The cost for a motherboard is $200 to $400.”

The Jaycees did an electronic show for the Ottawa University homecoming football game in the fall of 2008 because they were able to borrow the necessary equipment.

“It’s hard too find anyone to loan you equipment on the Fourth of July,” Furst said.

“The fire department inspects our set up each year,” he said. “Safety, for the volunteers who help during the display, and for the people who come to see it, is a big issue.”

Furst doesn’t believe the general public understands the fireworks used for the annual Jaycees display aren’t the kind you go down and buy in a tent. Safety is important.

“We’re not shooting Class C fireworks,” he said. “We’re shooting Class B, which means you have to have your ATF license. People want to crowd the top of the river dike on the south side, and we just can’t have that.

“We’re shooting a 4-inch shell out of a steel tube. We have enough trouble keeping track of ourselves down there.”

The folks putting on the show each have a specific job to do.

The lighters are the ones who actually light the shell’s fuse.

The cleaners clean each tube after a discharge to check for debris or paper that may cause an issue when the next shell is lit.

The runners take the shells from the safe box to the tube. They have a hand over the fuse until it’s dropped in the tube.

“We’ve done this safely for years, and we intend to keep doing it that way,” Furst said.

Along with the cost of purchasing the shells, the Jaycees are required by the City of Ottawa to carry $1 million personal injury liability insurance policy.

“Costs continue to rise every year,” he said. “The city gives us a generous donation, but it’s just not enough, so we rely on the generosity of business owners or managers and individuals to help us pay for it.”

The annual display runs about $5,000.

If you and your family enjoy the annual event from the safety of Forest Park or Orlis Cox and would like to contribute, you may send a check to Ottawa Jaycees, P.O. Box 141, Ottawa KS 66067.

For more information, contact Furst at (785) 418-3071.

Linda Brown is marketing director for The Ottawa Herald. E-mail her at lbrown@ottawaherald.com.