Clubhouse Burns, No Funds to Connect Sprinkler System
When the first company responded to an alarm for heavy smoke conditions in a country club in North Kingston, R.I., fire was found in a club room. Lines were stretched into the building and the ladder company was ordered to open up the room to try to confine fire spread. However, before ventilation could be effected, the fire vented itself through the roof.
What the companies were unaware of at the time was that the fire had been started in a concealed area in the cellar and had been burning about 45 minutes before discovery by a police officer who reported it at 5:13 a.m. last Oct. 25. About nine hours later, the police arrested a former employee of the club.
The wood frame clubhouse had a cinder block addition that housed a ballroom, large bar and restaurant, offices and storage areas. Locker rooms for men and women were in the lower portion of this addition. Fire fighters kept the fire from destroying this portion of the club, although there was smoke and water damage.
After declaring the fire under control, I started an investigation with other fire officers and found that there was a sprinkler system in the clubhouse. We found no evidence that any water had been applied to the fire by the sprinkler system. After tracing the sprinkler lines, we found that the sprinkler system had never been connected to the water system — because no funds were available, it was said.
I believe that if the sprinkler system had been operational, the wood frame clubhouse could have been saved. According to town tax records, the building, without contents, was valued at $342,000. At the time this report was written, a total fire loss figure was not available.
