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Cold Pyro Machines: What the Term Means on a Rider and What it Obligates

A cold pyro machine is a cold spark machine, named the way the production trade names it: an electric unit that heats metal granules and blows them out as a fountain of sparks. The hardware is identical to what a wedding client calls cold fireworks. What changes with the word is the paperwork, because a rider line reading "cold pyro" commits somebody to a licensed operator, a permit, and a clearance plan.

Why the trade says cold pyro

The effects department already had a vocabulary before this equipment existed. Riders, cue sheets, insurance schedules, and budget lines are organised around pyro as a discipline, so an effect that behaves like pyro operationally gets filed under pyro regardless of its chemistry.

That label is doing useful work. "Cold pyro" makes a production manager think about clearances, a fire marshal reach for pyrotechnic paperwork, and a promoter budget for a licence holder. All three are the correct reflexes.

It's the same device sold as a cold spark machine, a cold fireworks machine, and a spark fountain. Our complete cold spark machine guide covers the equipment itself, and our cold fireworks wiki maps every name in the category and which audience uses which.

How cold pyro appears on a technical rider

[EMBED YOUTUBE youtube.com/watch?v=YJGE5Mwp9Ms "DMX with special effects" WITH VIDEOOBJECT SCHEMA]

A rider line that works

Here's a sanitised version of the shape a usable cold pyro line takes:

FX / COLD PYRO. 6x cold spark machines, standard output class, 12 to 18 ft vertical. Positions: 4 on upstage line at 6 ft centres, 2 at downstage left and right. 3 activations, 15 seconds each, cued from show file. Control: dedicated DMX universe, own controller and cabling, operator position stage left with unobstructed sightline to all 6 units. Clearance: 15 ft or twice the fallout radius, whichever is greater, and nothing combustible overhead. Provider supplies machines, granules, control path, operator, and the licence holder where the jurisdiction requires a separate holder. Purchaser confirms permit responsibility and AHJ submission not less than 4 weeks before load-in. Class D extinguisher on deck with a current inspection tag, in addition to house Class A coverage.

Every clause in that block removes an argument. Count and class fix the quote. Positions and spacing fix the plot diagram. Activation count and blast length fix the granule order and the permit application. The control requirement fixes the patch. The permit sentence fixes the one thing riders almost never name: who files, and by when.

The vague version, and what it costs

FX: cold pyro as discussed. Provider to supply. Positions TBD onsite.

That line leaves open the machine count, the output class, the height, the direction, the number of activations, the granule quantity, who's firing, who holds the licence, who files the permit, whether there's a dedicated universe available, and who buys the extinguisher. Every one of those becomes a phone call, and several of them become a phone call on the day.

The most common gap we hit is a production that hasn't been walked through the process itself. Permit lead time, crowd distances, the fact that the operator has to sit off to the side of the stage with eyes on it, and the setup and strike time the effect needs all come as news at load-in. We review riders for production companies before contracts are signed, either as part of an event or as separate consultancy, because catching it there costs a conversation rather than a show.

[INSERT ANNOTATED RIDER EXCERPT INFOGRAPHIC WITH OBLIGATION CALLOUTS HERE]

What a cold pyro rider actually obligates

Equipment. Machines in the specified class and count, granules in the correct grade and quantity, power distribution, and the control path with its own cabling.

Personnel. An operator, and in some states a separate licence holder whose licence covers that machine type and use. Nevada requires both as two people. Other states let one person do both.

Documentation. Equipment cut sheets, granule SDS, a plot diagram with fixed machine positions, room dimensions and ceiling height, marked distances to stage, audience and set pieces, and insurance naming the jurisdiction. Our fire permit information page lists the full package and what each reviewer looks for.

Venue-side conditions. 15 ft or twice the fallout radius, whichever is greater. No glowing or flaming particles within 10 ft of the audience. Nothing combustible overhead, which rules out fabric ceilings, tent liners, stretched drape, paper, and wood. Fire certificates for everything inside the zone, including carpet, which has to be fire retardant or fire protected with the certification of treatment available for the AHJ to see. Our cold spark safety guide derives those numbers.

Control path. Fire prevention bureaus frequently require these machines on their own DMX universe with their own controller and cables, because a patch error or a corrupted show file on a shared universe can put voltage on a firing channel. We've had that requirement imposed in California, in other states, and in Clark County depending on the reviewer and the on-site inspector. Our cold spark machine DMX control page covers patching.

Timeline. 4 weeks minimum for a permit, rush fees inside that, and usually impossible inside a week. A rider that arrives 10 days out has already decided something.

The licensed operator question

In practical terms a public cold pyro cue needs a licensed pyrotechnician, and the licence question is jurisdictional rather than national. Nevada wants two people. Most states accept one holding both roles. Operators must be 21 or older and assistants 18 or older.

Budget the licence holder as its own line: $900 to $2,500 for a half or full day, separate from permit package fees, which run $1,500 to $2,500 for preparation and submission on a typical filing.

Two misconceptions cost productions real money. The first is that a venue's general fire watch replaces a permit. It doesn't, and a venue can't override the code of the jurisdiction it sits in, though hotels tell clients otherwise regularly and sometimes in good faith. The second is that whoever holds the console can fire the effect. Whoever fires needs direct line of sight to the machines, which is why pyro control sits at side of stage rather than at FOH, and it's the detail most often missing from a rider's position notes.

Insurance is the third exposure and the quietest one. A standard DJ or AV policy almost certainly excludes pyrotechnic-adjacent effects, and at least one hospitality insurer classifies cold spark machines as an unacceptable exposure with a mandatory requirement to discontinue use. Our cold spark machine insurance page covers limits and additional insured lead times.

Substituting cold pyro for a specified gerb

Ask the designer and the AHJ before swapping either direction. The look differs: a gerb gives a sharper, faster jet, and a spark machine gives a sustained fountain that holds for the length of the activation.

The fire response inverts completely. Gerb residue gets flooded with water because the device carries its own oxygen. Cold spark granules are a combustible metal and a burning-granule fire is a Class D fire, requiring a Class D extinguisher, never water and never CO2. That substitution changes the extinguisher inventory on the deck, and events have been stopped because no Class D was on site. Our cold spark machines vs pyrotechnics page runs the comparison properly.

What we supply against a cold pyro rider

Machines, granules, control path, operator, licence holder, permit package, and insurance naming the jurisdiction, as one scope rather than a set of referrals. We don't shoot conventional pyrotechnics ourselves; we partner with pyrotechnic companies for that, and because of the equipment involvement and industry rates we can usually get a client better pricing on the pyro side than going direct. Mixed shows get filed as one permit package subdivided by effect.

[INSERT TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS OPENING SEQUENCE STILL HERE]

For the season 3 opening sequence of Guy Fieri's Tournament of Champions on Food Network in 2022, the effect was 12 iSparkFX Fall units mounted between two pieces of truss, spraying downward. "Let the sparks fly" carried into the season 4 promo the following year. That's the kind of cue a rider describes in one line and a plot diagram describes in twenty.

A national hotel property in San Diego collected rental proposals and ours came in higher, because permit coordination and the licence holder were line items rather than assumptions. The client questioned it, we explained the code and the liability, and the property listed us as its approved vendor going forward.

We also train on machine use, fire code compliance, rental operations, and machine care, with a certificate several fire departments have accepted as recognised professional training. Where a tour repeats the cue nightly, buying the machines beats renting them by the second leg, and our cold pyro machines for sale listings carry the output classes riders normally specify.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cold pyro machine?

"Cold pyro machine" is the production trade's name for a cold spark machine: an electric unit that heats metal granules and blows them out as a fountain of sparks. The term is what you'll see on technical riders, in show files, and in effects department paperwork. The hardware is identical to what a wedding client calls cold fireworks.

Why do production professionals say cold pyro instead of cold sparks?

Because the effects department already had a vocabulary. Riders, cue sheets, and budgets are organised around pyro as a discipline, so an effect that behaves like pyro operationally gets filed under pyro regardless of its chemistry. The label carries the right warning with it: a cold pyro cue means clearances, a licensed operator, and a permit conversation.

What does it mean when a rider specifies cold pyro?

It obligates the production company to supply the machines, the granules, the control path, and the person legally permitted to fire them in that jurisdiction. It also commits the venue to clearances: 15 ft or twice the fallout radius, whichever is greater, and nothing combustible overhead. A rider line reading "4x cold pyro" is a permit, an operator, and a plot diagram.

Is cold pyro the same as real pyrotechnics?

The mechanism differs completely and the regulatory treatment often doesn't. NFPA 1126 covers pyrotechnics before a proximate audience, and a 2017 amendment added a definition that fire authorities apply to spark effect equipment. Published guidance from several state and city fire marshals classifies these machines as pyrotechnics. Our comparison page covers where the 2 effects actually diverge.

Does a cold pyro effect need a licensed pyrotechnician?

In practical terms yes, anywhere with a public audience. Nevada requires 2 people: a licence holder whose licence covers that machine type and use, plus a separate operator running the machines. Other states let one person do both. Operators must be 21 or older and assistants 18 or older. Budget the licence holder as its own line item on the effects quote.

Can a production substitute a cold spark machine for a specified gerb?

Ask the designer and the AHJ before you do. The look differs, since a gerb gives a sharper, faster jet and a spark machine gives a sustained fountain. The fire response differs completely: gerb residue gets flooded with water, and cold spark granules are a combustible metal requiring a Class D extinguisher. That substitution changes the extinguisher on the deck.

How is cold pyro written on a technical rider?

Usually as a quantity, a position, and a direction: "6x cold pyro, upstage line, vertical, 15 ft minimum." Better riders add machine class, activation count, blast length, and control requirements such as a dedicated DMX universe. Weak riders say "cold pyro as discussed," which leaves the production company guessing at count, permit responsibility, and who's firing.

Updated - 08/08/2026.