HAMBURG, N.Y. — Fireworks set to go off this weekend in Hamburg has a local Vietnam War veteran worried.
Bill Woods, 72, is a Purple Heart recipient and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He lives next door to the Avanti Mansion, and says the fireworks that go off during wedding receptions there are triggering to him. After a 10-year battle with the venue, he has now filed a lawsuit in an attempt to make it stop.
"He says it sounds exactly like what he heard in Vietnam, when they had to take cover, yell 'incoming,' and hide to protect their lives," says Woods' attorney, Terrance Connors.
Connors submitted a temporary restraining order to stop the fireworks scheduled for a wedding this Saturday, but it was denied. Connors says Woods struggles for weeks, even months after the fireworks go off.
This is a common issue, he says, for veterans across the country who have post-traumatic stress, but it is usually settled before it goes to litigation.
An attorney for the banquet hall tells 2 On Your Side that fireworks are scheduled two to three times per year, and they are approximately eight minutes in length. The fireworks are booked by a couple through the Town of Hamburg. The venue is then notified of the permit.
The Avanti Mansion says it has tried multiple times over several years to resolve the issue with Bill Woods.
"We have offered to pay for whatever they would like to do for an evening -- a nice dinner and a show or what have you," said Rodger Doyle, the attorney representing the Avanti Mansion. "We want our guests to have the wedding of their dreams. At the same time, we do understand this makes Mr. Woods feel uncomfortable, but he doesn't want to accept our help."
Woods' attorney says his client is in poor health and isn't able to leave home very often.
"I'm sure that if people who are getting married on what's a really happy day in their lives knew the disruption that it was causing to an individual who lives next door, that they might reconsider," Connors said. "Just to eliminate that package of eight minutes of fireworks explosions. Hopefully that's not too big of an intrusion."
In 2016 the Town of Hamburg began providing advance notice to residents about fireworks so those who were bothered could make alternate plans. Without fireworks, the venue feels it would be at a disadvantage in the competitive local wedding industry.
The two sides met Friday with State Supreme Court Justice Diane Y. Devlin attempt to come to a resolution. They plan to meet again next week.
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