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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Webmaster Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2006 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of Three |
Guardhouse burns amid confusion
A recently restored guardhouse at Forbidden and Lincoln Drives in the Wissahickon Valley section of Fairmount Park burnt to the ground as firefighters struggled to get to the scene last Friday evening. According to members of Friends of the Wissahickon, a park advocacy group, firefighters had difficulty accessing the site, taking nearly two and a half hours to reach the fire. David Dannenberg, head of the trails committee for FOW, said that when the firefighters arrived at the park they did not have keys to unlock gates leading to the site and had further trouble navigating the park’s pathways. Calls to several fire department officials were not returned by press time. According to Dannenberg, an eyewitness at the scene spotted four to five youths near the guardhouse while walking through the park. When the witness next passed the site, the young people were running away and the house was in flames. The director of Operations and Landscape Management for Fairmount Park, Christopher Palmer, said the city fire marshal’s office was investigating the incident and had not determined a cause. About six years ago, the FOW spent several thousand dollars restoring the structure, Dannenberg said, and plan to rebuild this time. “We are going to the site tomorrow to begin the cleanup with volunteers from the Crefeld School,” he said Tuesday. The guardhouses in the Wissahickon were built by Works Projects Administration (WPA) workers from 1935 to 1943. Dannenberg said FOW also plans to work with the park commission and the city’s emergency responders to ensure better response times and better signage in the park. “I was told that several calls were made to both police and fire department dispatchers who did not know where the Wissahickon is,” Dannenberg said of reports from the scene. In their defense, Palmer said, the Wissahickon Valley alone has close to 2,000 acres (the entire Fairmount park system has more than 9,200 acres) and its landmarks are less distinguishable than city streets. Palmer said he is was talking with the fire marshal’s office, but that he had not heard what, if any problems, occurred the night of the fire. As to improving the response to incidents in the park, Palmer said he would welcome any improvements to help the commission serve park visitors. Contact staff writer Jennifer Katz at 215-248-8804 or jenn@chestnuthilllocal.com. |
