Mystery boom shakes city’s northeast~heather

Mystery boom shakes city’s northeast

By Benjamin Lanka

The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne’s northeast side is booming, literally.

The city is investigating a series of loud noises along Lake Avenue that has caused a handful of homes to tremble.

“It’s a quick, solid, boom-type noise,” said Justin Brugger, the city’s northeast neighborhood specialist. “One lady described it as a tremor.”

Brugger said he received the first complaint about the noise about a month ago from a resident whose house shook randomly for no apparent reason. He said the city investigated different operations in the area, but determined they were not open at the times the person’s home shook.

He said he dropped the issue until he received similar calls a few weeks later. Brugger said residents describe it as a “pretty violent shake.” Another resident told Brugger the incidents were like someone jumping on the second floor of his home.

He said the city began thoroughly investigating the issue this week, but it has no solid leads on what is causing the sound.

“I thought it might be construction … but that doesn’t appear to be it,” he said.

To solve the mystery, Brugger plans to plot on a map the locations of calls from residents who heard the noise to try to see where they are most heavily concentrated.

Although the city has not yet put that information together, Brugger said the calls are centered mostly on Lake Avenue, but they stretch from Maysville Road to Kensington Boulevard. He said the city has also received calls from homes as far north as Crescent Avenue and Coliseum Boulevard.

“It’s a real long, narrow stretch of land this is occurring,” he said.

Denise Porter-Ross, mayoral spokeswoman, said she heard the noise at her northeast home.

“We’re trying to see what’s going on,” she said.

To add to the confusion, the noises don’t happen at a specific time.

“We’re finding they’re random in time,” Brugger said.

He said he has received four reports about a similar noise, but that doesn’t include incidents reported directly to the police. A police spokesman said the department hasn’t yet tallied the calls.

Porter-Ross said callers haven’t reported damage or injuries , but “it’s just a little disturbing. You’re hearing these noises but you go out to investigate and nothing’s there.”

Brugger asked those who hear the noises or know anything about their origin to call the city at 427-1111.

“If we don’t have people calling in where they hear these (noises), we’ll have no way to pinpoint them,” he said.

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