PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — If you can turn two hobbies into one dream job, that’s a pretty good deal.
That’s the story of Howard Pryda, 61, of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
Pryda loves fireworks and Philadelphia sports, but what do they have to do with one another? For the past several years Pryda has been a pyrotechnics and cryo subcontractor at Philadelphia sporting events.
Today, when you see fire shooting in the air during the Sixers pregame introductions, it’s Pryda who is sometimes firing those flames in the air.
“When I started doing the 76ers, one of the season ticket holders sits really close to me,” said Pryda. “And he said to me, ‘That’s a pretty cool job.’ I said, ‘I think this is the coolest job in here.’ I said, ‘I’m a fan. I get to come in here and blow off flames for player introductions for a team I’m a huge fan of.’ I said, ‘It’s like a dream come true.’”
And how Pryda became a Philadelphia sports fan is pretty darn cool as well.
Lunch with Wilt
Before we get to the pyrotechnics of Pryda’s story, let’s take a look back at how he came to love these teams. Pryda lives in Schuylkill County now, but he grew up in South Jersey. He doesn’t remember the exact year, but said one day as a little kid, probably between eight and 10 years old, he and his buddies were outside hanging out when they noticed a woman needed help with her groceries. They graciously helped this woman, who then offered Pryda and his friends to have lunch with her.
“And she says, ‘I have a big surprise for you.’”
The big surprise was Sixers great Wilt Chamberlain, whose mother was the woman they helped. Pryda said he didn’t watch basketball at that young of an age, but remembered that he recognized the name “Wilt Chamberlain.” Because Pryda doesn’t remember the exact year this happened, it’s unclear at what point Chamberlain was in his career. Nonetheless, it was a great encounter for him.
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“After I had that experience, then I became the Sixers fan that I am now.”
Pryda remembers only making it to Chamberlain’s knees in terms of height. He says Chamberlain picked each kid up so they could dunk a basketball.
“It’s a memory I’ll always have.”
‘My eyes lit up’
As a kid, Pryda took a trip down south, which is when he went into his first fireworks store.
“My eyes lit up,” he said, “and so as a kid, I always would light fireworks off safely. I still have all my fingers.”
Safety is not only a big deal for Pryda — it’s the most important priority. His message for those planning to use fireworks includes not drinking while doing so, keeping people at least 150 feet clear of them and taking it one step further by putting them in cinderblocks so they don’t tip over and start heading toward people.
“Just use common sense because they’re a lot more dangerous than they think … You don’t play with these things. They’re serious. They’re explosives, so treat them with respect.”
Pryda’s journey to becoming a professional pyrotechnic consisted of joining a fireworks club and going through an extensive licensing process. This isn’t for everybody. He said events like Fourth of July have an element of danger to them, are hard work, don’t pay well, happen during hot days and long hours. He said after cleaning up July 4th shows, he might not return home until the sun comes up.
But, it’s a passion – and it’s why he does it.
‘We’re part of the hype that gets it going’
Pryda, who says his work ethic comes from his three years in the Army as military police in his late teens, landed his gigs at Philadelphia sporting events through his experience and connections in this industry. For five years, including the Eagles Super Bowl LII season, he worked pyro and cryo during player introductions. He’s worked Philadelphia Union games and even acted as a fill-in at Flyers games when there were no fans in the building due to the pandemic.
For his gig with the Sixers, which he has done since 2014, he works for a company called Full Production Services, which is based in Egg Harbor Township. He was extremely stoked to get this job as a subcontractor almost a decade ago.
“I couldn’t wait to get here for every game.”
Remember, he currently lives in Schuylkill County. That’s a little under two hours away from Wells Fargo Center. He and another guy split the 41-game home schedule, but when the other calls out, he jumps at the opportunity to add another night of Sixers pregame fire.
“I just love it … I don’t want to tell anybody, but I’d do it for free.”
For player introductions, there are two huge fire towers placed behind each basket. The towers fire off multiple flames — some as high as 30 feet, some smaller. Pryda operates those flames.
KYW met up with him before the Sixers recent home game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 29. For a 7:30 p.m. game, he was at the arena about four hours before start time.
The towers arrive in a truck from Full Production Services. Preparing them is a process. He first rolls an empty bucket on top of a road case to where the hockey zamboni is stored. There, he takes the very hot water used for the zamboni, and fills up the bucket. Once the bucket is full, he rolls the hot water several yards back to the Wells Fargo Center loading dock. The towers are then prepared outdoors beyond the dock.
Each tower has four flame heads. Two of them produce the big flames and the other two, the smaller ones. In total, between the two towers, there are eight flame heads.
Pryda will put a barbeque-sized propane tank inside the hot water so the propane doesn’t freeze as he funnels it into the tower structures. It also helps speed up the process of filling the towers with the propane. The propane funneling is meant for the flame heads that fire the bigger flames. The less powerful flame heads are fueled by smaller canisters placed inside the structure as if it’s a battery.
When you see these fire towers in action, they are covered in Sixers wrapping by union stagehands at the arena. But without the wraps, the insides are tanks and wires.
The regimen is important. A misstep can’t happen.
“You could make a mistake and it could be fatal, so you have to constantly be aware of everything and try to plan for every eventuality that comes your way because if you don’t, you get caught flat footed and it could be disastrous.”
Once the propane is in there and the towers are wrapped, they are rolled out to the floor well before official layup lines, and placed behind the baskets. Pryda then plugs in wires and his operating board so they are ready to go for showtime.
“We’re part of the hype that gets it going.”
Pryda’s control board is right next to the tower by the visitors bench. Although it also operates the one by the home bench, there are fire watch guys who monitor the other tower when it’s in action. Pryda will fire off a couple of flames during the Sixers introduction video and then flames after each starter is announced. The large flames are controlled by a homemade toggle. The more he lays on the toggle, the longer the flame is in the air.
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Wouldn't operating fire and fireworks seem frightening? Not to Pryda. He spent more than 30 years in the Philadelphia Trade Union as a painter. He was on the side of large buildings in Philadelphia — hundreds of feet and several stories up. He has since retired, but that prepares him mentally for this.
And again, safety is everything. Fans are feet away from these towers. He’s very focused on making sure nothing goes wrong.
“I think the worst thing for me would be if — it wouldn’t be if I hurt myself. It would be if I hurt someone else.”
After player introductions, the union stagehands roll out the towers. Pryda follows. The wraps are removed and cooled off. He purges any remaining gas outside. The towers are then loaded into the truck and shipped back to Egg Harbor Township. Sometimes Pryda will stay and find a seat to watch the game. Sixers games are often packed though. On this Wednesday night, a 7:30 game, Pryda drove back to Schuylkill County starting around 8 p.m.
Passing down the passion
Pryda is a family man. He and his wife moved out of the Philadelphia area to Schuylkill County to be closer to his grandkids. He is a dad to three, grandfather to four and great grandfather to two.
In fact, it seems like there’s a chance one of his grandkids could be next in line for this pyrotechnic passion.
Pryda said he may retire from his Sixers gig in a few years. His plan is to pass on this job to one of his grandsons — who is in his early 20’s. He called him a level-headed kid, someone who he believes is close to having enough responsibility to handle this serious job.
“I’m gonna start to break him in probably in about two years.”
Wouldn’t that be quite the story for the grandson to tell to future generations while taking in a night of fireworks.