Community center’s future uncertain after fire
Firefighters from Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties were called shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday to battle a fire that destroyed the Indian Creek Valley Community Center in Saltlick Township. Firefighters were battling the blaze for nearly four hours.
Firefighters from three counties were called shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday to battle a fire that destroyed the Indian Creek Valley Community Center in Saltlick Township.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Flames roar up as the roof over the main section of the Indian Creek Valley Community Center collapses. Firefighters from three counties were called shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday to battle a fire that destroyed the Indian Creek Valley Community Center in Saltlick Township.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Firefighters from Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties were called shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday to battle a fire that destroyed the Indian Creek Valley Community Center in Saltlick Township. This was the second time in 20 years the community center was damaged by a fire.
Firefighters from three counties were called shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday to battle a fire that destroyed the Indian Creek Valley Community Center in Saltlick Township.
Firefighters from three counties were called shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday to battle a fire that destroyed the Indian Creek Valley Community Center in Saltlick Township.
Scott Porterfield watched as the Indian Creek Valley Community Center was consumed by fire early Saturday morning.
For him, it’s a case of deja vu, as 20 years ago, the building was damaged by a fire, and eventually restored.
Although this time, it’s much worse.
“The whole building was destroyed,” said Max Gales, Saltlick Township Fire Department chief. “The whole main roof collapsed, along with a roof on the small entrance area. We had three aerial trucks on the building.”
Firefighters from three counties — Fayette, Westmoreland and Somerset — responded to the fire in Saltlick Township when the call came in at 1:50 a.m., and remained on scene until nearly 6 a.m.
Gales, who responded to the fire that occurred 20 years ago, said this time around, it was much hotter inside.
“We had to bring extra tankers in,” he said. “It’s a mess inside where the roof came down.”
When the building was damaged for the first time in the early 1990s, it was determined to be arson.
“We’ve seen it happen before,” said Porterfield, a member of the community center board, and also the Indian Creek Valley Lions Club. “It’s disturbing. It’s sort of like deja vu.”
This time, however, the state police fire marshal said the cause of the fire is undetermined, Porterfield said.
“There’s no indication of suspicious behavior,” said Dr. Merle Skinner, manager of the center and executive director of the Christian Family and Children’s center. “We’re happy that it doesn’t seem to anything suspicious.”
Skinner is also thankful that no one was injured.
He was in the process of purchasing the building from the Lions Club, and had been responsible for bringing additional activities to the center including community skating, volleyball and a monthly Christian concert series with speakers. It was also rented out for weddings and parties.
“I was excited about how that was increasing,” Skinner said. “Just generally we were excited about some of the cool activities, so we’re very disappointed. We had a great relationship that was ongoing with the Lions, and the community was responding well to having more activities.”
The Champion Christian School had also planned to have its pre-school, kindergarten and high school graduation at the facility at the end of May, and now, Skinner must find a replacement venue.
“We typically have the graduation ceremony at an area church, but since we were moving toward purchasing the facility and managing it, we were going to do it there (the community center),” Skinner said.
The future of the facility is also now in question.
“There’s a lot of unanswered questions now,” Porterfield said. “We have to wait and see what the insurance ramifications are going to be. The hard part is just knowing what costs are going to be involved.”
He noted that although the Lions restored the facility after the first fire, costs have gone up, and fundraising has been difficult in recent years.
“If we rebuild, it’s going to be a substantial cost,” he said. “Raising funds has become more and more difficult as time has gone on; the dollars you raise don’t go nearly as far as they used to.”
No matter what the decision, however, Skinner plans to continue holding community events.
“Part of our mission is providing community activities,” he said. “We’ll still find ways to do those, and work with Lions depending on the direction they take. We’re just very thankful to have the opportunity to work with the Lions on this – we’ll find the path for it.”