BILLINGS — A Billings portable toilet business owner says fireworks vandalism has reached a new high this year, with 13 of his stalls destroyed across the city, the most in the seven years he's been involved in the business.
Kris Vogele says people are deliberately using fireworks to blow up his portable toilet stalls in his business called Urapeein Porta Pods. He said the problem started in 2019 and peaked in 2023 before this year.
Click here to see the damage:
"The losses are expected now," Vogele said Tuesday afternoon.
Each destroyed stall costs nearly $1,000 to replace, an expense Vogele says makes it harder for his business to donate to youth and community events. Vogele said he searches out opportunities to donate the toilets for youth sporting events and ZooMontana's holiday lights.
"It's really sad, because I think that they really aren't thinking about destroying someone's property," Vogele said. "It is 100% done to be destructive."
He said most of the incidents happen at job sites with few witnesses, making it nearly impossible to identify who is responsible, adding that the company owns 400 stalls around town and using cameras would be too expensive.
"It's a helpless feeling," Vogele said. "It really is."
The damage is not limited to his business. Park City resident Sarah Lees was watching her neighbor's annual fireworks show when she heard something strike her five-day-old car.
"I heard it hit, and my brother-in-law that was sitting next to me saw it hit," Lees said.
A piece of fireworks shrapnel cracked her windshield.
"It was an accident. Again, they do this every year. This is the first time that there's been any time of damage that was worth mentioning," Lees said.
Lees was disappointed but understanding of her broken windshield, but that the intentional destruction is what concerns her most.
"The thing I find most frustrating is the vandalism side of things," Lees said. "It's frustrating mostly."
Vogele says the consequences of the vandalism extend beyond property damage, making it challenging for the business to make its usual donations.
"It might not be hurting people, but in the long run, they are," Vogele said.
