Fireworks Stand Catches Fire
This time of year fireworks stands pop up everywhere to sell fireworks for New Years. Johnny “Smoke” Bahm has been selling fireworks for around 20 years, and he always sets up by the Pic & Save grocery store in Valley City. This is a side hustle for Smoke, and he takes the week off after Christmas each year to sell fireworks.
Smoke knows the fireworks can be dangerous. He makes sure he has nothing that could potentially start a fire close to his stand. He also has multiple signs to warn customers- No Smoking, Warning- Flammable. However, he realized this year that he can do everything in his power to keep his stand safe, but he can’t control the actions of idiots.
On Tuesday night, Smoke’s stand went up in flames, literally. Smoke wasn’t there when things blew up, literally. He left to get a Big One combo at Ward’s. He had a teenager manning the stand while he was gone. A grandpa with his grandson arrived just as Smoke was leaving. The grandpa was smoking a cigarette, and the teenage worker was scared to say anything to him. Everything was fine until the grandpa was tripped by his grandson. The teenager worker rushed over to help the man up, and they both forgot about the cigarette that was in his mouth. The man eventually got back on his feet and dusted his clothes off after 30 seconds or so. Then, it started.
First, it was firecrackers, and then it was whistling bottlerockets. They lost track after that. Everyone realized they were in trouble. The worker, the grandpa and his grandson, and everyone around the stand starting running for the hills, ducking behind vehicles, and running into Pic & Save. It was total chaos, and it seemed to last forever. Fireworks were shooting in all directions, and the stand was on fire. The noises were deafening. It was a total disaster.
One onlooker said, “I was walking out of Pic & Save, and I heard the noises. I ducked behind somebody’s car and watched the show. I was scared at first, and I almost wet my pants. But, it ended up being a pretty good fireworks show. I feel sorry for Smoke though. I was actually headed over there to get fireworks for my kids, but I guess I won’t be buying them from Smoke this year.” There were reports that multiple cars just stopped on the highway to watch the “show.”
Pictured taken by local resident
Smoke heard the noises while he was in the drive thru at Ward’s, and he knew what it was. He started getting knots in his stomach, and he rushed back to the stand. It was basically finished when he arrived, but his stand was still on fire. Firefighters arrived a few minutes later to extinguish the stand, but it was a loss. Smoke said, “I couldn’t believe it. I was speechless. I just wanted to make sure my worker and everyone else was ok. Thank God! No one was hurt, and nothing else caught on fire. The bad news is that my dog, Sparky, ran off, and we can’t find him.”
Sparky was not the only animal that was spooked. Two Valley City residents that live close to Pic & Save had their cats climb trees, and the cats wouldn’t come down. The firefighters left Smoke’s stand to retrieve the cats, and the firefighters had to work to 1:30 am retrieving the cats. Dogs could be heard howling in the wee hours of the night; they were obviously spooked by the explosions.
Smoke is a savvy businessman, and he had insurance on his fireworks. Smoke said, “It really sucks because I think I was going to have a great week, but I’ll make a little profit from the insurance money. Smoke laughed, “I probably won’t be able to get insurance in the future now though.”
As I was finishing this story, I received word that Smoke had finally found Sparky. Smoke said, “I’m probably going to have to take him to a dog therapist; I’m sure he has PTSD and he’ll never be the same. But, I’m relieved that he’s alive.” So, it’s good that we have a happy ending to this explosive story.