East Bay Mobile Newsroom
Electrical Fire Destroys Historic Yacht Club Building
TIVERTON, R.I. (AP) _ An electrical fire destroyed a historic yacht club building Tuesday, fire officials said.
Fire had already spread to all three floors and had blown out the back windows by the time firefighters reached the unoccupied Tiverton Yacht Club building, Tiverton Fire Department officials
told projo.com, the Web site of The Providence Journal.
Officials believe the fire had started on the first floor long before the fire department was notified at 4:39 a.m. It did not have sprinklers.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control by within 45 minutes of arriving but were still dousing the building with water at 11:30 a.m.
Building Inspector Robert Walker declared the building unsafe and ordered it demolished.
The building sits on a hill overlooking the Sakonnet River. It's believed to be about 150 years old and was originally a mansion, said Stephen DePaolo, club commodore.
The club, which has 200 individual and family memberships, plans to rebuild as soon as possible, DePaolo said.
The club plans to go ahead with sailing and swimming lessons starting later this month.
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