Half of the clubhouse at Charlevoix (Mich.) CC was completely destroyed by a fast-moving blaze that started in a kitchen stove. The course maintenance garage at Burlington (Vt.) CC suffered heavy damage from a smoky fire that started when a barrel filled with oily rags spontaneously combusted inside the hot building.
Two more country club properties were affected by significant fires recently.
(Last week, C&RB reported on fire damage to a cart shed at Plum Brook GC in Sterling Heights, Mich.: http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2016/06/17/golf-cart-fire-burns-plum-brook-gc-shed/)
In Charlevoix, Mich., Charlevoix Country Club was left without a clubhouse after a kitchen fire erupted on Saturday night, June 18, UpNorthLive.com of Traverse City, Mich., reported.
It took four fire departments, over 200,000 gallons of water and six hours to put out the fire, UpNorthLive.com reported. The fire that started in a kitchen stove completely destroyed half of the building and left the rest with smoke and water damage.
“We got a call for a kitchen fire, we showed up here and there was black smoke coming out of the kitchen area,” Charlevoix Township Fire Chief Dan Thorp said.
While no one was injured during the incident, Thorp said he hadn’t seen a fire this bad in a long time.
An excavator was used to knock down walls and parts of the ceiling in an effort to stop the fire from spreading.
“My main concern was the whole building was going to come down until we got the excavator here so we could start tearing down walls [and] keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the building,” Thorp told 9&10 News of Cadillac, Mich.
“One of the scariest parts was that no matter what was done, the fire kept popping up,” the club’s Marketing Manager, Alana Haley, said.
The country club will continue to operate as recovery from the fire is undertaken, UpNorthLive.com reported.
“The clubhouse houses our main restaurant,” Haley told 9&10 News. “The Argonne Supper Club had just recently moved in and was doing very well. We also use that space for events for both our members and for private parties.”
The club has no choice but to move forward for their business and their visitors who still have tee times, Haley added. “This is our busy time of year,” she said. “We’re a seasonal business like a lot of others in Northern Michigan, so it’s important for us to continue the operations that we can to keep those people on our staff employed.”
Golfer Adam Gillis visits the club at least once a year from downstate Michigan, 9&10 News reported. “We’re obviously excited to play because we love the course,” Gillis said. “We’re sad this happened because we love the food, love the beer [and] love the clubhouse.
“We have been coming here lots of years on Father’s Day,” Gillis said. “We look forward to coming back next year to see how they rebuild what they do different.”
The country club is doing everything it can to help people who had reservations in the clubhouse to relocate or reschedule, 9&10 News reported. While its phone lines were down, it was asking people to use e-mail to contact the club about their plans.
In Burlington, Vt., a smoky fire did heavy damage to the maintenance garage at the Burlington Country Club on June 16, WCAX-TV of Burlington reported.
More than 40 firefighters were called in to battle the flames in a metal building that was filled with golf course maintenance equipment, the station reported.
Investigators traced the start of the fire to a barrel filled with oily rags that spontaneously combusted inside the hot building, WCAX reported. That prompted fire officials to issue a reminder about the dangers of oil-based paints or cleansers and the need to properly dispose of rags and brushes.
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