HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. (AP) -- A popular Boy Scout lodge used by thousands of people each year has been shut down by the state fire marshal.
The closure came after complaints about a lack of fire protection in the two-story building, constructed almost entirely of wood. The building also lacks sprinklers.
It is the first time the fire marshal's office has shut down a facility in at least eight years, said Donna Disch, an agency spokeswoman.
The lodge was built in the 1950s. It has a hall for about 600 people and dorm rooms that can sleep as many as 190, the fire marshal said.
Ken Tucker, director of support services for the Boy Scouts, estimated that about 10,000 people use the lodge annually. It was booked solid for events like weddings and retreats for the next six months.
The Chief Obie Lodge is named after G.H. Oberteuffer, a Scout executive from 1925 to 1958. His son, William Oberteuffer, 84, of Island City in Eastern Oregon, said Friday he would like to contribute money for sprinklers.
``I think it is a terrible waste,'' he told The Oregonian. ``It is a beautiful facility. I am ashamed of the Boy Scouts Council for not having put sprinklers in.''
