Fireworks Show Burns Down Derelict Factory

This Story was first printed in the July 6, 2019 edition of the New Covenant Herald
Fireworks Show Burns Down Derelict Factory
by Sam Torres
Borough of Temperance, New Covenant - During last night's annual fireworks display on Orchard Bay, one bank of pyrotechnic wonders was set at the wrong angle. This resulted in several mortars being launched directly into an abandoned plant directly adjacent to Port Orchard Harbor. Thankfully the lot has been vacant for years and it did not strike one of the ships or the harbor yard, which could have had serious repercussions for this city's economy. However, it took until the early hours of this morning for the site to be considered extinguished. Due to manufacturing equipment and environmental concerns, Temperance Fire Company Eight will remain on site making sure nothing flares during the day.
This year's display had been programmed by an Italian firm, Montague Pyrotechnics, and the safety board, after a very thorough examination, found the one bank had not been converted from metric into standard units. The company has been fined $2,500,000 to pay for the fire department's time and resources. Despite the tragedy, two groups are rallying after the fire. The first is United Metric which has been calling for this country to switch over to the metric system like literally every other country in the world. The second is Mothers Against Fireworks who have been calling for greater restrictions on the sale and usage of fireworks. They say each year hundreds burn their hands or worse in senseless accidents which could be prevented if left to the professionals. With this incident, they say not even the professionals always get it right.
Montague Pyrotechnics is an eight year old firm based in Genoa and headed by Vincenzo "Vinny" Paglione. Before this incident, it had a very high safety rating, though it always provided its own staff to handle the display. This is the first time it has worked in collaboration, which city law requires a certain number on the project to be union members. It has committed an additional $250,000 to training beyond the scope of the fine. The company is best known for providing theme park displays at all Thirteen Banners locations.
The affected site which was affected once hosted Steel Coast United Manufacturing. If the name sounds familiar, the company made headlines in Spring of 2016 when the Department of the Environment closed them down for nearly 3,000 environmental concerns. Some of the most concerning included disposing of untreated slurry into the bay and heavy metal contamination of the site. At the time, remediation costs were estimated in the range of eight to ten million. The weakened metals market led to slimming profit margins and the owner decided it easier to shutter the location. Late last month the site had been bought by Romeo Holdings, a branch of an Italian international conglomerate which usually focuses on manufacturing and construction. A spokesperson for the company said they regret the tragic possibility for contamination of the local environment, but would be open to working with the city in the cleanup effort. Despite the setback, the company looks forward to unveiling their plans for the site in October.