Initial reports indicate that the two fires at a West Hartford country club over the weekend were not intentionally set, fire officials said Tuesday.
Around 2:18 a.m. Sunday, dispatchers received a 911 call from a person who lives near the Wampanoag Country Club reporting that they could see fire coming from the top of one of the club’s buildings — the same building that had been on fire on Saturday, according to the West Harford Fire Department.
Firefighters arrived at 60 Wampanoag Drive at 2:23 a.m. and found heavy fire throughout the entire building, with parts of the structure starting to collapse, fire officials said.
Mutual aid was called in for the second-alarm fire, and the bulk of the fire was knocked down at 3:57 a.m., according to fire officials.
West Hartford country club destroyed after second fire in two days
A day earlier, around the same time, an employee of the club called 911 to report a fire at the loading dock area, fire officials said. The caller was the only person in the building at the time and escaped the blaze without any injuries.
Firefighters found heavy fire at the loading dock and east end of the building, along with smoke coming from multiple parts of the roof, according to fire officials.
The bulk of the fire was in a fenced area outside the club near a kitchen door. Right after arriving on the scene, fire crews also noticed 20-pound propane cylinders that were also on fire, fire officials said.
An initial investigation indicated that the fires “were likely not intentionally set,” West Hartford fire officials announced Tuesday, and investigators do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the public.
According to fire officials, the initial investigation also indicated that the second fire reported on early Sunday was likely a continuation of the original fire early Saturday.
“These are preliminary findings shared for the benefit of public interest, transparency and timely information,” West Hartford Fire Chief Greg Priest said in a statement on Tuesday. “Full investigations of each fire will take a significant amount of time, and there is additional evidence that must be considered before arriving at any final conclusions.
“The continuation of any fire after it was believed to be extinguished is cause for concern, and our full investigation will seek to confirm the circumstances and conditions that led to a continuation of the fire, if that is in fact what occurred,” Priest added.
The West Hartford Fire Department requested that the Connecticut State Police’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit and the West Hartford Police Department’s Detective Division assist the Fire Marshal’s office in the investigation, which is ongoing, officials said Tuesday.
Information from Courant reporter Taylor Hartz was used in this report.
