For some it is mainly environmentally harmful and expensive noise pollution, for others it is emotional customs and passion: fireworks. Thomas Drescher has made this passion his calling. The Leichlinger is a full-time pyrotechnician and organizes large fireworks for weddings, company parties, city festivals and shooting parties throughout the year. He does special effects for film and television: “Recently, I blew up cars with spectacular explosions in rapper Samra’s music video.”
How do you become a pyrotechnician? This is by no means a classic apprenticeship. When Drescher had to give up his job as a chemical technician at Bayer for health reasons, he had not yet contracted pyropyrosis. With his settlement, he then went to Australia for work and travel. There are no private New Year’s Eve fireworks there, he reports, instead large fireworks are staged that live up to their name.
“Big fireworks are manual work, that’s why I need them,” he was very impressed. “I quickly got into conversations with the Australian pyro and the subject never let me go from then on,” he recalls. “Even in Germany, my thirst for pyrotechnics could not be curbed.” So he independently acquired more and more knowledge and provided twenty certificates of specialist knowledge until he received the certificate of competence.
Fireworks ban in the pandemic
Twenty-three years later, the future of his industry is now more uncertain than ever. During the fireworks ban due to the pandemic, he simply kept his family afloat by renting bouncy castles. “I put it all on one card and that was more luck than brains,” explains the arsonist.
The political and social debate on the ban on fireworks is reaching its peak. According to the Federal Environment Agency, about 2,050 tons of fine dust are dusted off fireworks each year, about 75 percent at one time on New Year’s Eve. There are a variety of arguments for and against, whether it be safety, animal welfare, sustainability or mores, hope and freedom. “It’s hard to say how it will develop in the next few years, because I can imagine everything right now,” says Drescher. He criticizes the fact that the topic is often emotionally inflated: “I’m ready to talk sensibly about it, even if I like it.”
Fireworks must not and must not be abolished!
Thomas Drscher
For the Leichlinger with gunpowder in his blood, of course, one thing is clear: “Fireworks must not and must not be abolished!”, instead he would like to see them handled with care. “You don’t have to shoot fireworks at every birthday party,” he says, “it’s an absolute luxury item and should remain something special.”
Contrary to expectations, her New Year’s fireworks are modest: “This is family time, I don’t work there.” So his wife Agnes chose a golden fountain and the children a mix of juvenile fireworks. “I know inside and out what all effects are like,” she said, and that was her duty and her responsibility. “Unfortunately, I can no longer surprise myself.”
Pop up sale at Fishing Center
This year Drescher has set up a pop-up shop in the Leichlinger Angelcenter, where he has been advising over two hundred customers since Thursday and providing them with selected bang effects. These come from across the company. When it comes to the category one and two fireworks that he manages here, he pays attention to sustainability and CE certification: “These contain fewer harmful substances, for example, are – where legally possible – packed in cardboard and consist of parts made of biodegradable plastic.”
Fireworks items at the special sale in the fishing center of Leichlingen
Copyright: Timon Brombach
Here a clear distinction must be made with large fireworks: while these are not commercially available and five minutes can easily cost between 800 and 1,800 euros, here rockets, batteries and fountains can be purchased for a few euros. “There’s something for everyone here,” Drescher is sure.
There is something for everyone
The most expensive of the range is “Monster 2”, a so-called composite firework for 143 euros. Material costs and costs for production, which takes place almost entirely in China, are not decisive for the price. It is the safety transportation that is expensive. The price for shipping a container of firecrackers to Germany is around 60,000 euros.
An elderly couple says: “We save up all year to be able to afford something like this. But this is important to us: this is freedom.” 19-year-old Fabian Mateja from Leichlingen is throwing a big New Year’s party with his friends this year and spent a three-digit sum on fireworks on Thursday: “I’m annoyed that I was already in the I could have saved a lot here at the Angelcenter .”
Pyrotechnician’s tip for all those who are still looking for fireworks: “Colourful, but not loud – everyone has most of them.” Can especially recommend batteries in pure colors and ring flares, these effects are real eye-catchers.
The temporary fireworks sale in the Angelcenter Leichlingen is open on Fridays until 20:00 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 14:00.
