The rule waiver allows Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc., based in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and other operators of July 4 displays to keep drivers on duty more than the federal maximum of 14 hours a day, according to a June 28 notice in the Federal Register.
“We have a very narrow window of opportunity to do our business,” said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, a Bethesda, Maryland-based trade group for fireworks operators. “We don’t get July 5.”
Disney is the only publicly traded company getting an exemption. Most others are small, family-owned businesses that rely on seasonal workers to make the shows happen, Heckman said.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which grants the exemptions, gave them to nine companies for the first time. Disney and 52 others had them renewed.
One company on the list, Zambelli Fireworks of New Castle, Pennsylvania, has staged fireworks displays in New York harbor, Mt. Rushmore, major league baseball games and state fairs, according to the company website. It’s producing July 4th celebrations in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Cleveland, Kansas City, Missouri and 16 other cities.
Sandy McStay, a Zambelli spokeswoman, referred questions to the pyrotechnics association.
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Source: Bloomberg
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