June 01--An early morning fire at a North Reading country club caused an estimated $1 million dollars in damage to golf course maintenance equipment stored in a building.
The Thomson Country Club was open to members yesterday and will be open today because the blaze was "not near or on the golf course itself," according to a staff member with the private establishment. There were no injuries to report during the blaze.
North Reading police and fire responded to calls about 2 a.m. yesterday reporting a fire in the area of Greens Condominium Complex and the Thomson Country Club golf course.
Neighbors reported multiple explosions coming from inside the burning structure, "most likely caused by maintenance equipment tires that were expanding from the high heat and exploding," North Reading police said in a statement.
Officers went to numerous homes in the surrounding area to warn residents of the possibility of secondary fires, but there were none.
The two-alarm fire finally was put out around 7:30 yesterday morning with assistance from Middleton, Wilmington, Reading, Lynnfield and Wakefield departments, according to North Reading Fire Chief William Warnock and Fire Capt. Joe Marotta.
"This was basically where they kept the lawn mowers, tractors and lawn equipment for the complex," Marotta told the Herald. He estimated "over $1 million" in damages to equipment stored in the metal clad barn-like structure.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan told the Herald yesterday that the investigation to determine the cause was ongoing because of the damage to the structure.
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