Business owner will rebuild after fire

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Gary Graham fell in love with fireworks when he was only five years old.

"What's not to love? You have color and noise. What more could you ask for. Sky painting is what I call it," Graham said.

Ten years ago, Graham, now 30 years old,  turned his passion into a business and opened Pyromaniac Fireworks in Waynedale. Seven years ago the store moved to Old Trail Road.

"This is my life's work. We worked hard to have a great inventory in the perfect location," he said.

Then Wednesday, the unthinkable happened when his store went up in flames. Graham, who is the assistant coach for the Komets, was at practice when the fire started around 10 a.m. The team trainer came running out on the ice saying Graham had an emergency phone call.

"At first I was concerned about my family and then he said the store was burning down and my heart dropped," Graham said. "It felt like I was losing a loved one."

The store was packed full of fireworks. A new shipment of 120 cases had just arrived in time for New Year sales.

"We always do good New Years business because we're one of the few places open," Graham said. "If the fire had happened a few weeks ago we wouldn't have lost as much money and it wouldn't have been as bad."

The store's insurance company won't cover the $50,000 of inventory. Graham said he's already had a lot of his wholesalers and other fireworks businesses calling to offer support and encouragement.

"We all have a passion for fireworks and do it for the same reason. To see that happen, you wouldn't wish that on any competitor or anybody. The outpouring of support is really helping me," he said.

Graham is also thankful for the well-wishes from people in Waynedale.

"Waynedale has been great to my family and my business," he said. "I'm really sorry they had to go through something that was probably scary for them, so I thank the Wayndale community and the great people out here."

He's also thanking the fire department for keeping the fire from jumping to surrounding businesses.

"When a fireworks store goes, it goes the whole thing. The firefighters can only go on the defensive. They can't go in and salvage anything. They  have to be safe and that's not a safe place to go into," Graham said.

But not being able to put the fire out from inside also means the investigators won't be able to figure out the cause of the fire.

"There wasn't much left to investigate as far as material. They did the best they could and did interviews and got as much information as possible," Fort Wayne Fire Department Chief Pete Kelly said.

The investigators did rule out arson, which is comforting to Graham, but he still wishes he could know what sparked the fire.

"It would help me sleep better at night," Graham said. "We don't do anything different. Everything is the same and it bothers me to think this could happen on the inside."

An employee was in the store Tuesday and closed at 8 p.m. He said nothing looked out of the ordinary when he left.

In June, Pyromaniac Fireworks passed the fire department inspection with no violations. The store didn't have a sprinkler system, but didn't have to according to state law.

The law states stores with more than 500 pounds of fireworks have to have a sprinkler system. Stores with less than 500 pounds don't. Kelly said the law was enacted a few years ago and stores older than the law were grandfathered in and didn't have to add a sprinkler system.

Graham wasn't sure how many pounds he had Thursday, but he was not required to have a sprinkler system. In his new location, however, whether he's required to or not, he plans to install one.

"It's a tough way to start a new year, but you have to be optimistic," he said. "Everything happens for a reason. I keep telling myself that and we were successful out here in Waynedale because of our attitude and as long as we keep that business model the same, we'll be successful anywhere we go."

Graham doesn't know where he'll reopen, but said it won't be in the same spot. He's already received some calls from possible tenants. He hopes to be open by Memorial Day.

"It won't be the same. It won't be the Old Trail Road store we love so much, but we'll make a new home somewhere else," Graham said.

In the meantime, he still has his love for "sky painting" and plans to set off fireworks to ring in what he hopes will be a new year of new beginnings.