On Labor Day weekend, just past midnight into Monday, a man who had previously been banned from the establishment entered the Rapid River Pub at 10491 S. Main St. He asked to be served, whereupon the assistant manager told him he was not allowed on the premises, would not be served and had to leave, owner Thomas Szocinski said.

Before exiting, the man reportedly made a comment about bringing the place down with him, audible to multiple people in the pub. Minutes later, a loud bang erupted from the back of the building.

By 12:33 a.m., emergency personnel were responding to the incident that shook not only the building but hearts of the community.

“There was a fire starting at the rear of the Rapid River Pub, and it appeared to be like a type of firebomb,” Szocinski said. “They’re still investigating what it really was, but we do know it shook the entire building when it went off. How we know that is eyewitnesses, but also the cameras show that everything shook during.”

The rear exterior of the Rapid River Pub building is shown as it appeared Wednesday after a fire that burned early Monday. The affected area was an unoccupied apartment, and the cinderblock section seen at right is for storage. (Courtesy photo)

It was fortunate the pub was open and occupied when the incident occurred, Szocinzki said, or the fire might have spread before people knew what had happened.

“There were seven people inside the bar, between 15 and 20 outside the bar, in the outdoor venue, and the customers and staff immediately reacted,” he said. “What they did was, you know, was perfectly responded.”

First, people ran to check out the area where the sound had come from. Finding the exterior on fire, some went to go grab fire extinguishers. Someone else recorded a video that was later posted on the pub’s Facebook page and viewed about 400 times.

“We had fire extinguishers on hand that were able to put the exterior flames out, and the fire department took care of pulling the walls apart to get the rest of the fire out of the walls,” Szocinski said.

The Masonville Township Fire Department, Ensign Township Fire Department, Delta County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police all responded to the call.

Steven Prestridge, 33, of Rapid River, has been charged with arson in the Rapid River Pub fire early Monday. (Mugshot from Delta County Sheriff's Office)

Szocinski said the emergency response team found evidence of accelerants on the back side of the building facing the alley. Damage to the building extended as a “hole” inside, partially because of the firefighters’ work to prevent the fire from getting worse.

“Then they had to put, you know, fire retardants and stuff throughout the building, so that that caused significant damage to the building, too,” Szocinski said.

Immediately inside the area where the fire was is an old apartment that was not yet refurbished. To the south is another wing that serves as a storage area.

The property has a couple other apartments as well. While no one was allowed to stay on site that night because utilities had been shut off, the residents were able to return and stay in the apartments Monday night.

“There was some smoke that went through the building, but the fire department was able to put industrial-sized fans on the building and vacate mostly smoke within a couple hours,” Szocinski said.

For several hours after, Szocinski and his wife, Sugey, battled with a strange, surreal feeling. Although they made it home by 5 a.m., it was hard to sleep, and they wondered, “What if he comes back to finish the deed?” as the suspect at that point had not yet been caught, Szocinski said.

However, police knew who they were looking for and made an arrest before 12 hours had passed. Szocinski said they had K-9s and drones searching.

Steven Truman Prestridge, 33, of Rapid River, was taken into custody about noon Monday on P Road between Gladstone and Escanaba.

Tuesday, Prestridge was arraigned in the 94th District Court at the Delta County Courthouse on one count of arson-second degree and one count of arson-preparation to burn real property. Bond was set at $150,000 cash/surety with additional conditions. He is scheduled to return to court for a probable cause conference Sept. 11.

On Monday night, though the restaurant and bar were off limits, the Rapid River Pub hosted the Brisket Barn — a food truck operated by neighboring Jack’s Restaurant — and celebrated Labor Day in their outdoor area, Rapid’s Landing, which opened this summer.

Though shaken by the incident, Szocinski said that he’s very appreciative for the response from neighbors, other businesses, employees and the public.

“I told myself I wanted to move back home, and the reason was because of this community,” said Szocinski, who purchased the pub in June 2023 from Mike and Roxann Hebert. “When this community sees somebody stumble, they don’t just sit and look at them. They actually step up and help them. It doesn’t matter if it’s an emergency or if it’s an injury or whatever we have. This community kind of constantly rallies around people, and we’re kind of in a special little bubble here. We get an opportunity that we have community that feel like family, and it’s not just a feeling, it’s action.”

As soon as they were able, the Rapid River Pub brought in Escanaba-based Mr. Klean, which has experience in post-fire cleanup. They managed to help get the business to a point where it could reopen.

While the Rapid River Pub began welcoming customers again on Wednesday afternoon, they ask that people keep their distance from the area blocked off by yellow police tape, as it is still a crime scene that should remain untouched until the investigation is concluded.

Though it’s impossible to say how long it will take to work with contractors and insurance agencies to get the building’s damage fixed, Szocinski hopes it will be before autumn ends. He expects, however, that insurance will fully cover costs, considering the incident is pretty well documented as arson.

It is worth noting that although a number of commercial buildings in Escanaba have burned in the past couple of years, the Rapid River Pub incident is likely unconnected, as arson was not suspected in the other cases.