When officers arrived, the brush fire had already been put out by a civilian.
Dispatch received two calls at 7:41 p.m. that an old building was on fire across the street from the recreation area.
BFD arrived to find the former concession stand of Zoom Flume Waterpark aflame, fire prevention officer Scott Smith said.
There is no reason to believe the two fires are linked at this time, Smith said.
An arson investigator was on the scene. Although the cause of the fire is still unclear, it’s possible the fire was started intentionally, Smith said. The gate to the property was already open when officers arrived.
“It didn’t just spontaneously combust,” he said.
The BFD ran out of water trying to put out the fire that engulfed the approximately 1,000-square-foot building.
“Anytime you get out in the county it’s hard to find water,” Smith said.
The BFD used a fire hydrant in Knightsville and tankers made several trips carrying 2,000 gallons each time in addition to the 3,000 gallons of water initially used.
Because the building was abandoned, there was no immediate urgency for the fire to be put out. The threat of the fire spreading was minimal, Captain Russell Anderson said.
“These are easy fires,” Anderson said. “You see it fully engulfed and you know you’re not going in. This is what we call the surround and drown.”
Lindsay Moore
