Base NCO helps set Guinness record for wall of fire

Rick Myers thinks he is living every kid's dream as a member of Rich's Incredible Pyro team.

"You fly all over the country, they hand you a pile of explosives, you set it up and make it go boom and have a great time doing it," Myers said.

On Sept. 17, 2007, Myers and the rest of the pyro team were handed enough explosives to build a wall of fire 6,635 feet long.

The mile and a quarter explosion set a Guinness World Record, allowing Rich's Incredible Pyro team to reclaim its title.

The team had the world record for the longest fire wall at 3,600 feet before a team from Australia claimed the record with a 3,717 foot wall of fire.

Myers said members of the pyro team came up with the idea to set the record with a mile of fire while drinking beer one night.

"We decided to show them how to break a record," Myers said, mocking the Australian's 117-foot improvement of their record.

The original plans were drawn on cardboard and took only a day to set up at the Terre Haute Air Fair at Terre Haute, Ind.

The team decided to use all the space they had available, increasing the wall from a mile to 6,635 feet.

The explosion used 3,300 gallons of gasoline, 8,000 feet of detonation cord and produced 300-foot-high flames.

The explosion was in conjunction with the company's air show, 10 Sticks Code Name Mary's Lamb, that featured three planes, a jet truck with three jet engines that can go 377 mph, a motorcycle that jumps over a plane, and the choreographed explosions.

Myers has been a member Rich's Incredible Pyro team for the last five years.

He is currently the safety NCO for the Range Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base.

Myers is limited to eight shows a year but plans to attend most of the team's 22 air shows once he retires from the Air Force in August.

Rich's Incredible Pyro team is owned by Rich Gibson and based in Rockford, Ill. Members live all over the country and use e-mail to stay in touch between shows, Myers said.

The team worked on the IMAX film "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag" and has been on shows on the Discovery and Military channels. The team is scheduled to appear on an upcoming National Geographic show.

Mountain Home Air Force Base will have an air show in conjunction with Community Appreciation Day in September.

Myers said contracts for the show have not been opened yet but his team will bid on the project.

"People come to air shows to see the planes, but when they leave, they talk about the pyro show," Myers said.