A fire that damaged the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199 on Sunday is under investigation after authorities found security and phone lines cut.
The fire at 58 South State Route 157 gutted the porch and badly damaged the lounge and hall, which has been closed until further notice.
Investigators with the Illinois state fire marshal's office, Illinois State Police and Edwardsville Fire Department are probing the cause of the fire, said Ed Small, who stepped down as post commander Sunday. An annual officers installation banquet, scheduled for Sunday evening, had to be moved to the American Legion Post 435 in Glen Carbon.
The post was informed the Barcom security lines and phone lines had been cut, Small said.
"The firefighters smelled chemicals that shouldn't have been present here," Small said.
When asked whether the cause of the fire is suspicious, Edwardsville Fire Capt. James Whiteford said the investigation is continuing.
About 5 a.m. Sunday, Edwardsville firefighters responded to the legion hall after a receiving a report of flames burning through the roof. A renter staying in a house on the post grounds heard the building's audible alarm. Shortly after that, a maintenance worker arrived at the hall and saw flames coming through the wall, Small said.
Edwardsville firefighters were assisted by the Glen Carbon Fire Protection District.
"We had it knocked down pretty quick," Whiteford said. "We were able to keep the fire in about three rooms inside the building."
The entire building sustained smoke and water damage, but the fire was confined to the lounge, the hall and the porch area. Junior vice commander Alan Harbers said it is unknown when the building will reopen. Legion operations will continue out of the post's former outside kitchen, once used for picnics and outdoor events.
The building was constructed in the early 1970s, but the post was chartered after World War I.
Small's stepdaughter, Keri Manion of Granite City, had planned to hold her wedding reception at the hall Aug. 28. She spent most of Sunday driving to different banquet halls trying to find another location.
"It would be nice to be there, but now it's not feasible," Manion said. "I'm glad I'm not (one of) the people getting married this weekend."
Harbers said several other organizations in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon such as the Moose Lodge, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion in Glen Carbon have offered to take some of the receptions and other events scheduled at the Edwardsville legion hall.
Post 199 operates one of the few American Legion-owned public golf courses in the country. The golf course will remain open despite the damage to the building.
The fire was the second blow post members endured over the weekend. On Saturday morning, longtime member and Korean War veteran Larry Creamer, 74, died at Anderson Hospital. Creamer was to have been installed as the post's sergeant of arms for the third year.
