The enforcement of
Pyro use in the
theatre has become very stringent as of late. We were using a small flash of flash powder and gun powder in "Camelot". We ran out of
electric matches, and didn't have time to get them shipped in. We have one of the largest producers of film
pyro such as gunshots in our hometown. We called and asked if they had any we could use, The man who runs the place knew several of us from working on "Sheena", and he told us, that it is no longer a matter of getting a citation, but they arrest you and haul you off to jail for violations. The only legal way to do it, is to have a
pyro license, of which there are several levels, have fire marshall approval after a demonstration of the
gag, and if you use any open chemicals, some sort of national mixing license. Every state has it's own requirements, and a license from one state is not valid in any other state. Our theme parks in Florida, use prepackaged
pyro to avoid the national mixing license, but at that, they still require one
level license for loading and a higher license for triggering the
gag. Bottom
line, If you are a
community theatre, a school or less than a large facility with all of the proper permits, licenses and local fire marshall approval, you better leave
pyro alone or you might end up in jail. Just because there are websites that sell this stuff does not give you the right to use it. The alternatives that have been discussed are the correct approach, but remeber projectiles from compressed gases or air can kill, so use wisdom,common sense and plan it out with deadman switches, and control of one responsible individual.