Downtown Fireworks, Nearly Downtown Working Fires

[XLFD]

Back on February 26, 2018 Ludington City Councilor Wally Cain expressed a concern about approving fireworks that the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) would have set off for what would be the next New Year's Eve celebration.  He was concerned with the safety of setting off those fireworks directly over the crowd of people that gathers downtown on that night, less concerned over the chance of the buildings catching fire, as the LFD was there and their station was nearby at that point, proudly noting his daughter was on the department.   

He wanted to table the permit and discuss it further in the ten months interim; then-Councilor Krauch belittled the fear noting that fireworks had been used downtown for years, and called on the two chiefs to quell anxiety by explaining precautions that were followed.  Then-LFD Chief Jerry Funk reported that nobody had been injured and no property damage had ever happened that he knew of.  The DDA was well represented on the council at that point and their contingent approved the fireworks permit, Councilor Brandy Miller making the motion to do so.  

Miller, and other members of the DDA present that night would conveniently forget about an incident that happened 14 months earlier, when fireworks from the ushering in of 2017 caused roof damage to Luciano's Restaurant (the old Fort Daul) where they were shot from.  Even if they had not heard about the roof damage until it appeared on the DDA (aka Downtown Ludington Board) financial records as one of their few line items, it would appear on the city council's records for the Feb. 13, 2027 (p. 23) meeting as the repairing of a roof leak at Luciano's:

Using DDA funds to patch a firework-damaged roof would never be mentioned in the two DDA meetings before that council meeting.  Nothing more was said about why a public body (the DDA) was using public funds to fix a roof leak, which is why everybody outside the one's involved overlooked the item, including the Ludington Torch.  It has been confirmed that the damage was indeed from fireworks shot off that year, or perhaps cumulative damage.  Nearby Sportsman's Bar would have its roof redone earlier this year by another roofing company, perhaps related to damage that may have occurred over the years.

Back when this reporter was on the LFD, Chief Funk and others would reminisce about some of the older structure fires they faced, and one of these was the Orgie's Restaurant fire on Sept. 16, 1986 and the one that took out Peterson's Furniture Specialists shortly thereafter.  Funk and a handful of other seasoned fire officers would recall how quickly the fire spread through the restaurant because of its balloon construction, and they would express worries about other downtown buildings that shared this trait or had interconnected attics.  

Six and a half years later, Ludington is experiencing a rare May-June drought, as it approaches a special sesquicentennial edition of its Love Ludington weekend.  This February, the fireworks to occur on the night of June 9th were approved by the Ludington City Council.  They did not foresee the extremely dry conditions that would exist that night because the area had not received more than trace amounts of rain for many weeks.  Rather than shoot the pyrotechnics from the top of what was Luciano's, they went across the street to the Masonic Lodge Building at 108 W Ludington Avenue.  

When reasonable burn permits were being denied in the area and many (including this reporter) were suggesting that the fireworks should be postponed due to fire safety, the DDA went ahead and shot off the fireworks this last weekend from the Lodge's roof, without apparent incident, and nothing more was made about it.  

Or was there an issue?  The Ludington Torch has learned that Brandy Miller was notified by the fireworks crew that Friday night, after the fireworks, some damage had occurred to the Masonic Temple roof, creating what looked like to be 6-8 holes of modest size.  As some rain was in the forecast for Sunday, she was hoping they could get some emergency work done to patch them the next day.  

She also acknowledged that the costs for these emergency repairs would be borne by the DDA, rather than the fireworks team or their insurance, and advised that any billing should be sent directly to her.  This appears to be the same modus operandi used to repair the roof of Luciano's in 2017, to discreetly charge emergency roof repairs to the DDA, so that when it showed up nearly two months later in their 'paying the bills' section, one would not know that the reason the DDA was spending money on repairs is that the fireworks caused it.  

When I contacted City Manager Mitch Foster about this alleged roofing damage this last week and made a public records request, he would claim ignorance of any such damage or communication. between city officials and roofing companies.  When pressed and told where to look, he did finally admit to talking with Fire Chief John Henderson (Brandy's father, and one who is knowledgeable enough about fire vulnerabilities in the downtown area) who states there were minor issues and that they were addressed that evening.  This does not agree with the reliable information received by the Ludington Torch.

The City of Ludington needs to have an open, serious discussion about why setting off downtown fireworks during seriously dry conditions is not a good idea.  And if one of these celebrations lead to the next Orgie's Restaurant inferno, we (or our fireworks crew) need to have fire insurance to cover that tragedy rather than have those affected pay for them (the downtown business district pays an extra 2 mils for the DDA).  Avoiding talking about the damage, as the City has done in 2017 and now in 2023, only leads us down the path to an eventual disaster of their own making.