BOOM! NW Indiana residents outraged over pyrotechnics convention

It was a loud and explosive night for some residents in a normally quiet town.

Some people living in La Porte, Indiana are worried about military grade explosives going off near their homes.

"Rockets like this are fine, the whistling it's fine. But that heavy concussive force, the whole house shakes, things rattle. There's no way to get away from it,” said Joe Haney.

The Haney family has lived in their La Porte home for almost two years. When they heard about the Pyrotechnics Guild International Convention just over a mile away, they were excited. That excitement, though, has now turned to dread because of the more bomb sounding-like fireworks.

"95 to 98 percent of all that stuff is tolerable and I can live with for a week. But, these other devices, they're minimal, but they have no business being anywhere near any of these homes here,” Haney said.

The La Porte county fairgrounds, which is hosting the convention, says it has taken all of the state safety precautions.

"They are not close to anything. We've mapped it, we've beaconed it, we're done whatever we can do to make sure and measure it and make sure they're far enough away. And they are far enough away from all the houses,” said Jeff Mitzner of the La Porte County Fair Board.

The PGI convention is popular in Indiana and contributes financially to the community.

“It's a very big draw. We feel as though this is going to bring close to 4 million dollars of economic impact to this and you know the main reason why we're doing this. You can see our fairgrounds behind me, we want to build new buildings for the 4-H'ers and do things for the community and for the kids,” Mitzner said.

But for the Haney family, the economic impact doesn't make it any easier.

"They tell you to put in ear plugs. The earplugs don't stop the floors from shaking,” Haney added.