Steven Marson was 16 when he first started working with fireworks under the watchful eye of a mentor. Today he owns the largest pyrotechnics company in the state.

It’s a job he loves (especially during the Fourth of July) and a job that keeps him busy (especially during the Fourth of July). And the fact he can set off between 100 and 300 shells a minute? Bonus.

Name: Steven Marson

Age: 55

Town: Pittston

Married/single/relationship: Married

Job: President and CEO of Central Maine Pyrotechnics

Tell me about Central Maine Pyrotechnics: A full-service fireworks company that does it all for its customers, from site inspection, insurance coverage, state and local permits and U.S. Coast Guard permits to the final show setup and firing.

How did you get started in the pyrotechnics field? I was asked by Michael Falconi, who was known in Maine as Mr. Fireworks, to help him on a fireworks show in Waterville at the age of 16. This is back when you could be on a show at the age of 16. Mr. Falconi was an experienced technician that believed in providing the best for his customers. I worked all day setting up ground display set pieces. (These are stationary fireworks that are built out of wood frames and are placed on stanchions at ground level for firing. The set pieces we used that day included the American flag, Army tanks with firing guns, Disney characters, etc.) After the display, Mr. Falconi asked me if I would like to learn the art of pyrotechnics. He asked me to think about it and let him know the next day. Mr. Falconi stated that there was hard work in learning the setup and chemicals, and that I needed to be very serious about wanting to learn. That was 40 years ago, and today I am the owner of Maine’s largest fireworks company.

Did your career choice worry your parents? No, my dad worked with Mr. Falconi and knew him to be a very safe person who took his art of pyrotechnics very seriously.

Where and how do you practice? We hold live firing training sessions with our technicians and apprentices here in Maine. I travel to Lingyang, China, to design and test fireworks patterns and chemical makeup yearly.

Fireworks would seem to be, you know, kind of dangerous. Do you have all your fingers? Eyebrows singed? Yes to having all my fingers, and, no, my eyebrows are not singed.

Do you have a favorite type of firework? I prefer the rapid firing specialty box barrages that we have designed. They fire from 100 shells to 300 shells in a minute

What’s the best music to sync fireworks to? I like patriotic music as well as fast beat music.

If you have kids, what do they think of dad’s job? My oldest son, Anthony, age 26, is the vice president of the company, and my other son, Brian, age 23, helps out when he travels to Maine from New York during the summers. Both of the boys think it is pretty cool but dangerous stuff to be working around. It only takes a spark of static electricity to set things off while working in the storage magazines.

What is the Fourth of July like for you? Awesome. We will provide over 65 unique displays this year between July 1st and 4th in three states.

What is the most unusual event you’ve supplied fireworks for? Taking a person’s ashes and placing them in a shells and firing them off for the family while they celebrate the person’s life.

What’s your dream pyrotechnics job? Combining the art of pyrotechnics and laser light to a fireworks display.

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