Teachers on summer break become ‘pyro experts’ at Fort Mill fireworks store
Kim Pyles left the classroom as a special education teacher in late May and headed to her summer job.
Pyles, seasonal manager at Red Rocket Fireworks in Fort Mill, is not the only school teacher who works as a summer employee. The company has employed more than two dozen teachers and para-professionals.
Those employees and others on Wednesday wearing “pyro expert” shirts walked around the store between Interstate 77 and Carowinds Boulevard pointing out the latest fireworks and the best boom for the buck for the Fourth of July.
Explosives called The Patriot, Loud and Nasty and Spiral Vortex sat on shelves by the dozens. One pyro expert recommended to a shopper a $900 get-up.
Many of the shoppers at the store bordering the North Carolina-South Carolina state line Wednesday were from North Carolina, which outlaws most fireworks. In North Carolina, poppers, sparklers, fountains and items that don’t explode, spin, leave the ground or fly through the air are OK, the News & Observer reported.
Oscar Joyner of Charlotte said he was looking for a “one-time set-off show” that would last only one to two minutes. He contemplated the Neon Peacock. Joyner is joining family friends and family at Pawley’s Island to celebrate the holiday.
Greg Coleman of Charlotte said he was looking for the “biggest and the loudest” fireworks to celebrate his brother’s birthday.
Terry and Trevor Aaseby scanned a barcode on a big box of fireworks at a kiosk that demonstrates what they look like when they explode. The father and son are planning to celebrate the holiday with neighbors.
This story was originally published July 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
