A suspicious fire heavily damaged a six bay maintenance building at Wapplehorst Park in the City of St. Charles Friday evening, December 29. The fire was first reported shortly after 10 pm. by a motorist who was driving by the park and saw flames coming from the building.
The building serves as the main garage and heavy equipment storage area for the park. The structure is located on the northwest corner of the park at 1875 Muegge Road.
Firefighters were dispatched at 22:22 hours and arrived four minutes later to find the building heavily engulfed in fire with flames shooting though the roof. Firefighters battled the fire aggressively and were able to bring the fire under control in less than 20 minutes. The fire department was able to save some of the heavy equipment valued at over $50,000.
The building and contents suffered major damage estimated near $30,000. This damage included heavy equipment used to resurface baseball diamonds in the park. No injuries were reported.
The fire is being ruled suspicious and an investigation is continuing. This is the second fire in this building in as many years. A fire destroyed the building two years ago and it was completely rebuilt prior to this incident.
Firefighters from Central County Fire and Rescue assisted in battling the blaze.
