Zachary Martin oversees the TNT Fireworks tent in Warren.

The tents seem to pop up overnight. Toward the end of June, you start seeing them in parking lots, busy highways, and outside of shopping centers. The annual fireworks tents appear with their flags and bright signs, signaling the Fourth of July is right around the corner.

At the TNT Fireworks tent that sets up every year in the Tops parking lot, the fireworks are usually delivered about June 18. The setup including the tent, tables, lights, and everything needed to have this temporary store running starts about a week before the fireworks show up.

Zachary Martin operates the fireworks tent at Tops. I met him a couple of weeks ago when I stopped to ask him about the different fireworks that he has in stock. This is his third year operating this fireworks stand.

During that time he has seen a lot, which he told me about during our conversations. In 2024, he chased off two would-be robbers around 2 a.m. According to Martin, two older teenagers had seen where the register setup was during the day and returned that night to attempt to rob the tent.

“So they lifted the tent wall to find me around turning at them. I had just awoken to find two faces entering my tent,” Martin recollects. “They by luck didn’t get hurt and ran away in terror, convinced I was chasing them.”

They then ran by several security cameras in town, including one set up outside of Subway. According to Martin, they were later caught by the Warren police.

The fireworks tent is open until 11 p.m., so what was Martin doing there at 2 a.m.? During fireworks season, he spends most of his time in the tent. That includes sleeping there every night. I was shocked when he told me that. I hadn’t thought about all of the inventory that he has inside the tent that could easily be stolen after closing time.

I saw his cot folded up behind the table he was seated at. This couldn’t be a great place to get a good night’s sleep. He said the police patrol at night and usually drive through the parking lot every hour or two. But that doesn’t stop a lot from happening in the parking lot while we are all home in bed.

He said he has seen drug deals happening, family arguments, cars revving up their engines for long periods of time, and some even setting off fireworks near the tent. When I asked him how he was sure there were drug deals, he had a good response for me.

“Very rarely are there 3 a.m. car based bake sales involving small bags and wads of cash,” Martin answered.

He had me there.

I asked him about simple things like taking time to get something to eat or restroom breaks. He told me he has family that tries to help him out from time to time, but due to their busy schedules, it’s not often.

“Once or twice a day, maybe a restroom break. Other days, I have to attend other work so I have a brother of mine trained up to at least handle the critical tasks,” Martin told me.

Other work? This is just one of five jobs that Martin currently holds. One of his others is at Walmart.

“You may see me cleaning the toilets there.”

Martin has a reason that he works so many jobs and spends a lot of his summer sleeping inside of a fireworks tent in a parking lot. He has a wife that he is trying to bring to the United States from the Philippines.

“I was married on February 14, Valentine’s Day to my wife in 2024 in her home city of Caloocan in Metro Manila. We have been able to just barely afford the process,” said Martin.

Martin knows more about fireworks than anyone I’ve ever talked to. He told me that I could point to any colorful product in his tent and he could tell me exactly what they did.

“I like to imagine myself as an expert on my products and the aspects of running a fireworks tent. I keep close track of what our products do, how they compare to one another, and how they compare to competitors’ fireworks,” Martin told me. “Sort of like a chef at a restaurant for many years knows what dishes work best.”

I asked him how sales were this year because I haven’t heard or seen that many fireworks going off yet. Martin believes people are holding off until closer to July Fourth this year, due to the economy here locally.

“Fireworks are a luxury item,” he told me.

Martin told me the average firework sale in his tent is between $40 and $60. He will build a customer a custom package by listening to the customers wants and needs. He will start with a larger “finale” item and then build around that with smaller items that fit within that budget.

“I treat it like a Build A Bear experience. I feel it earns a lot of trust and makes the Fourth that much better for everyone because it was in the tent built as a package to be extra special,” said Martin.

Americans spend over $2 billion dollars on home fireworks annually according to data from the American Pyrotechnics Association. Martin is hoping a lot of that is done in Warren County.

He’ll be in the tent every day and every night every day between now and Saturday until 11 p,m.

Or even later.

“If it’s after 11 and the walls are down, just knock on the side and I’ll open things up for you.”

Follow Jeff Haight, official home of Jeff News, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jeff.haight.315