Fire marshal report on fairground fire released

By P.J. GLISSON

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood — An investigative report on the Sept. 26 fire at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds was released last week by the Gogebic County Courthouse and concludes that the official cause of the fire that destroyed three structures was “accidental.”

The report was issued by the Ironwood Public Safety Department and includes statements from two of its employees, Sgt. Brandon Snyder and Lt. Matthew Sterbenz, with reviewing by Sgt. James Chiapuzio. As the fire marshal, Snyder provided the final word.

Additional supplementary reporting was provided by Det. Sgt. Jesse Yesney of the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office.

They all, in turn, interviewed key parties at the scene, including Pete Giovanoni, owner of Superior Excavation of Hurley, whose company was subcontracted by Bolle Contracting of downstate Clare to demolish three fairground structures.

Giovanoni and his staff already had completed demolition of the poultry building and a utility trailer and were in the process of deconstructing the grandstands when the fire occurred.

The report quotes Giovanoni sharing the same explanation that he provided The Globe on the day of the fire. As Snyder’s report summarizes, “Workers from Superior Excavation were cutting metal poles with a torch and noticed a small fire. The workers extinguished that fire (with a dry chemical extinguisher) and then realized that sparks or fire had gotten inside of the wall on the north end of the grandstands.”

The report adds, “They attempted to do some demolition with an excavator to get at the seat of the fire but were unsuccessful.”

The report continues, “The demolition crew indicated that they did not use thermal blankets, cooling or water prior, during or after the cutting.”

The investigative statements indicate that Sterbenz arrived at the fire scene at 9:57 a.m. after he and IPSD Director Andrew DiGiorgio had received reports of smoke in that vicinity.

As noted in the report, “Initial observations were that the grandstands building was approximately 90% engulfed and the horse barn had started to catch on fire.”

Sterbenz requested help from fire departments in Ironwood and Bessemer townships and Hurley. He also recommended contacting Xcel Energy “because the heat had caused a power pole to catch fire and a service line had burnt through so the line was hanging and arcing.”

Directly before and after arriving, Sterbenz reported temperatures in the mid-60s with an easterly wind of roughly 10 to 12 mph.

Fair Board member Thomas Hampston, whose property abuts the fairgrounds, was one of the people interviewed as part of the investigation.

Yesney’s report notes that Hampston took his first photo of the fire at 9:47 a.m., at which time the north side of the grandstands was “engulfed.”

The report continues, “At 9:51 a.m., the fire had made it to the other end of the grandstands. And at 9:52 a.m., the whole grandstand was engulfed. At 9:59 a.m., the horse barn to the west of the grandstand was still there but could be seen smoking. At 10:08 a.m., the whole horse barn was engulfed in flames. At 10:14 a.m., the buildings were gone and at 10:22 a.m. the buildings were ashes.”

The IPSD report states that the “majority of the fire” was declared “under control” as of 10:50 a.m., although Ironwood Township firefighters continued to monitor it until the following day.

A damage list at the end of the investigative report notes that the grandstands, the 4-H horse barn and a hay barn were casualties of the fire, along with two boats that had been stored in the horse barn. Each item was declared a “total loss.”

In addition to general electrical damage, the livestock pavilion — described in the report as “the main fairground building” — also incurred peripheral damage in the manner of north-side scorching, east-side roof damage, and “numerous windows” that had “melted.”

Snyder’s report was considered a necessary prelude to finalizing claims with three different insurance entities: one for the county and one for each of the contractor and subcontractor.

As of Tuesday, County Administrator Juliane Giackino informed The Globe that the county has entered talks regarding projected costs in addressing electrical damage. She indicated that the entire claims process will continue extendedly.