The fire broke out at the 63-year-old club in Bowling Green, Ky. on the night of December 7th, with an employee hearing a “pop” that was attributed to a light fixture. The employee and two club members who were in the clubhouse escaped unharmed. The club’s Board met the next day to begin to map out short- and long-term recovery plans. “We come together when we have to, and we’ll do it again after this,” said President Bruce Fane on the night of the fire. “The rebuilding begins tonight.”
Investigators were continuing to work to identify the cause of a massive fire that destroyed the clubhouse at Indian Hills Country Club in Bowling Green, Ky. on Saturday night, December 7th, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.
Damage estimates are unavailable, but the building is a total loss, according to a news release issued on Sunday, December 8th by the city of Bowling Green, the Daily News reported.
Three people who were inside the building when the fire began before 8 p.m. on the night of the 7th escaped unharmed, and no firefighters were injured in battling the blaze, the Daily News reported.
Daylight on Sunday morning the 8th revealed that virtually nothing remains of the clubhouse other than a charred husk of the building, the Daily News reported.
Bruce Fane, the club’s President, said one employee and two club members were in the building at the time the fire began. Fane said the people heard a popping sound and walked around the building attempting to find its origin, eventually attributing it to a light fixture.
The three people were able to escape unharmed, and Fane said he came to the site after receiving a text message, the Daily News reported.
“At first we didn’t think it was that bad when we learned what happened, but it went up quickly,” Fane said. “By the time I got here, it was evident the building was going to be gone.”
Fane, a 25-year member at Indian Hills, spoke with city fire investigators and commiserated with John Mullendore, PGA, the club’s Head Golf Professional, while the fire raged, the Daily News reported.
The club’s Board of Directors planned to meet on December 8th to discuss options for the short-term future, which Fane said might include bringing trailers and temporary offices to the site before rebuilding a permanent facility, the Daily News reported.
“We’re family here, we come together when we have to, and we’ll do it again after this,” Fane said on the night of the fire. “The rebuilding begins tonight.”
The country club was established in 1956 on land overlooking the Barren River and hosts numerous tournaments throughout the year, as well as wedding receptions and other events, the Daily News reported.
Its website is now headlined with an announcement that its golf course, designed by William B. Langford, will host the 2022 Clark’s Pump-N -Shop Kentucky Amateur Championship, as part of Indian Hills’ hosting all four major championships held by the Kentucky Golf Association in the next ten years.
Members of Indian Hills CC can also participate in ClubCorp’s ClubBenefits program.
Jason Colson, Chief of the Bowling Green Fire Department (BGFD), said his agency received a call at 7:39 p.m. on the 7th from an employee who reported a loud pop and that the sprinkler system had activated, the Daily News reported.
By the time firefighters arrived at 7:45 p.m., flames were visible from the outside, extending from the roof on the back of the structure.
Firefighters attempted to access the building and got to the second floor, but encountered a large volume of fire and extensive heat in the attic, the Daily News reported.
Flames spread across the entire length of the building in the attic area, causing firefighters to retreat and battle the fire from outside, Colson said.
The roof collapsed at some point during the blaze, and smoke was visible to motorists on Cemetery Road, the Daily News reported.
A total of 27 BGFD personnel staffing five engines and three ladder trucks responded to the fire, Colson said.
At some point, the BGFD started experiencing water-supply issues while contending with the large scope of the fire and requested assistance from three other volunteer fire departments in the area, which then brought four water tankers and two additional engines, the Daily News reported.
While firefighters tried to control the fire from the front and one side of the building, several onlookers gathered on the golf course behind the clubhouse to take in the destruction up close, the Daily News reported.
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