If there’s such a thing as the big cheese, the head honcho, the top dog of Washington’s small fireworks industry, Pyro Pete may be it.
The 80-year-old, also known as James Peters III, sells fireworks out of his 7,000-square-foot warehouse in Northeast Washington, just like he has for decades. Earlier in his career, the born-and-raised Washingtonian worked as a D.C. fire inspector on the team that regulates fireworks. Now as a wholesaler, his products are available at about two dozen stands in D.C.
