“There’s nothing to save; we will put in a new building and have a brand-new, beautiful clubhouse,” said the golf pro and new owner of the 106-year-old suburban Philadelphia club.
Owners of the LuLu Country Club in Glenside, Pa., where the clubhouse was destroyed in a fire on Sunday, October 18 (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2015/10/19/lulu-cc-clubhouse-a-total-loss-after-two-alarm-fire/) said the next day that they will rebuild, the Ambler (Pa.) Gazette reported.
“There’s nothing to save; we will put in a new building,” said Jon Rusk, the golf pro at LuLu and owner of the suburban Philadelphia club with his father, Ronald, and the club’s General Manager, Jeff Orleski. “We will have a brand new, beautiful clubhouse.”
The golf course itself was not damaged, and the pro shop did not burn down, so the golf clubs were saved, along with the carts, Rusk told the Gazette.
“We’ll get a trailer and work out of that for probably the next yea [and] set up a tent in the summer” until the new clubhouse is built, Rusk added. “It was a total loss, but we do have great insurance.”
When he arrived at the club for work around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday the 18th, Rusk told the Gazette, he smelled smoke and called 911, and he and another worker got out. When the firefighters arrived, “I told them there were 25 golf carts and gasoline in the basement, and they were able to pull them out.”
Fort Washington (Pa.) Fire Company Chief Eric Clauson told the Gazette that after arriving three minutes after the call came in, the building was already heavily involved in flames and he immediately called for a second alarm.
“By the time we got there it was well-advanced,” Clauson said. “It was burning awhile before anybody saw it.”
The large main ballroom had an open and wood ceiling, with exposed beams, and the fire was in the roof, so “we took up defensive operations — water from the outside,” rather than having any firefighters battle it from inside, Clauson said. No fire hydrants were close, but “we got water from three hydrants; we had to lay several thousand feet of hose.”
The construction of the building lent itself to rapid fire spread, Clauson said. About 100 firefighters from eight to 10 fire companies battled the blaze and got it under control after about two hours, but the clubhouse “was a total loss,” Clauson told the Gazette.
There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians, Clauson said. Firefighters were able to save the golf carts, members’ golf clubs and some memorabilia, and minimize damage to the pro shop.
.Timothy Schuck, Fire Marshal of Upper Dublin (Pa.) Township was still investigating at the scene two days later and told the Gazette that the cause of the fire, and even the place of its origin, were still undetermined. It was not believed to be suspicious.
“There’s a dozen of us and we have no idea yet,” he said, referring to assistance from county. state and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, who were picking through the rubble. “There’s so much fire damage, and the building collapsed in.
Rusk told the Gazette that he stayed at the scene until around 5 p.m. on the day of the first, and added that “A lot of members came out,” with some of the onlookers commenting that “the old girl just wouldn’t give up.”
Located on a 115-acre parcel, LuLu is home to an 18-hole golf course designed in 1909 by professional designer Donald Ross. The current owners took over on June 1 of this year, the Gazette reported.
The golf course, which was the first in Pennsylvania designed by Ross, suffered no damage from the fire.
In an e-mail message to club members, the owners said they were thankful that no staff members or firefighters were injured in the fire and said that the course would be closed “until we are able to set up the temporary pro shop and restroom facilities.”
“It’s a very valuable, historical course; it’s got a lot of character and a lot of historical value,” Clay Frederick, a member of the country club for more than 15 years, told the Gazette. “I certainly hope they’re able to rebuild and bring it back.
“The current leadership is doing all the right things,” Frederick added. “There’s a setback, but I look forward to them, hopefully rebuilding, and taking it forward for another 100 years.”
Philly.com reported that Schuck, the township fire marshal, was able to bring the club’s 103-year-old charter out from the charred structure while crews were still streaming water on the smoldering ruins. The document’s wooden frame had a fine layer of soot, Philly.com reported, and its Plexiglas covering was slightly bowed from the intense heat, but the oversize document with the faded signatures of the club’s original members and court officials was preserved.
“That is huge,” Bob Shubert, one of the club’s 265 members, said as he looked over the document.
Along with plaques from club tournaments and other memorabilia, the fire destroyed photos of Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, and other pros who came to play on the course, Shubert said.
“We are devastated,” General Manager Orleski told Philly.com. “It’s a shame,” added member Jim Coyne, 81.
Orleski said the loss will be covered by insurance and he hoped to reopen the course as soon as Halloween weekend. Already, plans are underway to bring in temporary trailers, toilets, and a makeshift kitchen.
Other clubs in the area had stepped up to offer services, including hosting any scheduled events, Philly.com reported. LuLu’s building had been a popular destination for weddings and parties, Orleski said.
Orleski said he had asked demolition crews to preserve a 15-by-15-foot stone wall with the country club’s name on it, so it can be part of the new clubhouse.
“We are going to bounce back better and stronger,” he said.
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