Fire officials in West Hartford, Conn. are investigating after the historic Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford was destroyed by two blazes in as many days.
At 2:18 a.m. Sunday, a nearby resident called 911 to report seeing fire coming out of the top of the club, “the same building which had sustained a fire the previous night,” West Hartford Fire Chief Greg Priest told the Daily News by email.
Firefighters arrived minutes later to discover “heavy fire through the roof,” with the building already partially collapsed. No one was inside and there were no injuries, but “the majority of the structure has been consumed by fire,” the fire department’s statement said Sunday.
Just 24 hours earlier, an employee had called in a fire at the loading dock at 2:10 a.m. Saturday. Heavy flames were torching the dock and the building’s east end, and smoke poured out of multiple parts of the roof, the Hartford Courant reported. Fire officials also saw 20-pound propane cylinders that were leaking gas and burning, WVIT reported.
That fire was under control in an hour, but the second one took much longer and required help from the UConn Fire Department, Avon Fire Department, New Britain Fire Department, American Medical Response and the West Hartford Police Department, among other agencies, West Hartford’s Priest said.
Wampanoag Drive was closed Sunday and would be for “an extended period,” Priest told Connecticut Insider.
Both fires are being investigated separately, Priest told local news outlet We-Ha, since Sunday’s fire began a substantial amount of time after Saturday’s was suppressed.
Sunday’s fire is being investigated by the West Hartford Fire Marshal’s office, the West Hartford Police Department and the Connecticut State Police Fire Explosion and Investigation Unit, Priest said.
Club officials vowed to rebuild the historic venue, which is celebrating its centennial this year.
“Obviously, we’re very saddened at the loss of our clubhouse. And we’re just incredibly grateful that no one’s been injured,” club president Glenn Cunningham told WVIT-TV. “Wampanoag Country Club has been around for 100 years.”
Cunningham noted that the club’s recently renovated, award-winning golf course is still intact.
Meanwhile the club is moving events to other venues in the state, as it is closed indefinitely.
In the end, Cunningham emphasized, the club is not about a building. “It’s the people,” he said.