A second fire in as many days has caused devastating damage to the clubhouse at Wampanoag Country Club. [Updated with photos of damage Sunday afternoon]

By Ronni Newton

A second blaze over the weekend at the clubhouse at Wampanoag Country Club has completely destroyed the nearly-70-year-old building, which is now a total loss, West Hartford Fire Chief Greg Priest told We-Ha.com early Sunday.

An investigation was underway related to the Saturday fire, and Priest said the Sunday fire is being treated as a new investigation based on the amount of time that had passed since the last fire suppression activity had taken place.

Although there were contractor vehicles related to restoration from Saturday’s fire in the parking lot, no one was believed to be on site just when a nearby resident called 911 at 2:18 a.m. to report seeing fire coming from the Wampanoag Country Club building – the same structure that had caught fire roughly 24 hours earlier.

Priest said officials do not believe that anyone was inside the building when the Sunday morning fire started, and no injuries were reported to responders in the two-alarm blaze that also brought companies from the UConn Fire Department, Avon Fire Department, and New Britain Fire Department to the scene to provide assistance to all West Hartford units who were attacking the blaze. American Medical Response was also at the scene.

Wampanoag Country Club was set to rebuild and restore after a fire early Saturday morning, and contractor vehicles and generators were present at the site.

The clubhouse, which was updated and renovated roughly five years ago, had already partially collapsed when crews arrived at the scene at 2:23 a.m. Sunday.

Priest said that when the first units arrived there was heavy fire visible from the roof.

“Based on the extent of heavy fire throughout the entire building with partial structural collapses already occurring, the on-duty Deputy Chief called for a defensive attack (exterior only) with master streams and transmitted a second alarm. The second alarm brought mutual aid partners to the scene,” Priest said in an email.

Priest said the bulk of the fire was nocked down by 3:57 a.m. but ongoing suppression efforts remained underway at the site, and crews were expected to remain on scene for an extended period of time. Wampanoag Drive remained closed to traffic.

Wampanoag Country Club President Glenn M. Cunningham had said in an email to members on Saturday afternoon that the golf course would be reopening Sunday with temporary facilities, and members would have the opportunity to retrieve any personal belongings from the clubhouse. We-Ha.com has reached out to management for an update on Sunday.

An investigation into the cause of Sunday’s fire is under investigation by the West Hartford Fire Marshal’s Office along with the West Hartford Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police Fire Explosion and Investigation Unit, Priest said.

In addition to the departments that assisted at the scene, Priest said Hartford Fire Department and Newington Fire Department, as well as American Medical Response (AMR) provided mutual aid coverage to the town.

“We greatly appreciate the assistance of the West Hartford Emergency Reporting Center, West Hartford Police, AMR, and our numerous mutual aid partners who assisted at the scene,” Priest said in his email.

Fire officials remained on the premises of Wampanoag for much of the day Sunday, and as of 2:30 p.m. crews were still pumping water onto the building. Investigators from the Connecticut State Police Fire Explosion and Investigation Unit were also on the scene.

The photos below, taken Sunday afternoon, show the devastating damage to the entire building, from one end to the other. Windows were blown out, and the roof and a portion of a chimney had collapsed. The rear of the building appeared completely gutted.

While representatives from Wampanoag did not respond to a request from We-Ha.com for comment, President Glenn M. Cunningham said in an email to members late Sunday morning that the club is working with town officials and representatives of their insurance company on next steps, and assured members that the clubhouse will be rebuilt.

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