Mission Serious for Festival Fireworks Crew
For the soldiers manning the fireworks tubes at Water Festival, it’s hard work that is treated like a battle. (12 November 2008)
At around 6 pm each night this week, the night sky above theChroy Changvar peninsula in front of the Royal Palacebecomes a host to a spectacle of lights and explosions. The bright fireworks show attracts the gaze of hundreds ofthousands of spectators as they make their way along the waterfront, crowdingboth banks of the Tonle Sap. But the displayis not all fun. For the soldiers manning the tubes, it’s hard work, treated like a battle. Before the show begins, a crew takes three hours to prepare.The team must dig holes in the ground, monitor the placement of the fireworks andprepare plastic bags in case of rain. “If the fireworks are not placed properly, the explosivesdon’t lift straight out, but will burst inside the tube,” said Lt. Col. CheaSreng, the technical expert in charge of the RCAF fireworks team. The fireworks have different shapes and sizes, ranging fromthe numbers one to twelve. The smallest, one and two, look like bamboo tubesthe length of a hand. These are put together in clusters of 50 or more, so thatwhen they launch, a continuous explosion will ensue. When these burst, theyappear as flowers of different colors. From numbers three through twelve, the shape is spherical,ranging in size from a tennis ball to a soccer ball. Beneath the sphere is alift charge, which launches the ball of powder into the air. Once the ball isairborne, a series of explosions creates the show. The crew, comprised of RCAF soldiers under the Ministry ofDefense, places these fireworks in tubes, making sure they will lift straightup, and install infuses. Is it dangerous? “Yes, of course,” Chea Sreng said,explaining that part of their task is keeping people away from the launch zone. “When we are here, it is just like a battlefield,” he said.“This is our mission.” Lt. Gen. Ith Sarath said 2,400 fireworks are fired eachnight for five nights running during the Water Festival, in shows that last upto 30 minutes. He would not say how much money it takes.