Historic Fire Chief's Memorial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, destroyed by fire
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — A historic landmark honoring fire chiefs who served in Norristown, Montgomery County, was destroyed overnight in a fire.
The Norristown Fire Department posted on Facebook early Wednesday morning that a two-alarm fire broke out at the Fire Chief's Memorial, located in Elmwood Park on Harding Boulevard. The building was dedicated in 1936.
"There were access issues getting into the building," Deputy Chief Richard Lockhart of the Norristown Fire Department said as he described the challenges of fighting the fire. "It's not a building that we fight fires in every day."
It took about an hour for firefighters to extinguish the flames, Lockhart said.
Tony Barbato is one of the former volunteer fire chiefs whose service the memorial honors. Barbato is now a captain with the Norristown Fire Department.
"To see the amount of fire that was there, it hit me right in the gut," Barbato said.
The memorial also served as a bandshell that hosted the borough's summer concert series and Fourth of July celebrations.
Norristown Council President Tom Lepera said local and state agencies have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.
"Municipal Council is devastated by the loss of the Fire Chief's Memorial Bandshell at Elmwood Park," Lepera said in a statement. "Council and the administration will work quickly to rebuild the bandshell."
The final Summer Concert Series event of the season was scheduled for Sunday. Organizers said the concert will now be at the baseball field adjacent to the bandshell. It is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
"We'll build that stage, we'll bring the sound system in and we'll have a great show," Joe Staiber, CEO of Rotation Productions, said. Staiber is a contractor who organizes concerts at the bandshell for the Borough of Norristown.
MAFIA and the Whitewalls are the two bands that will perform on Sunday. Jim Hartman is a bass player for MAFIA.
"Music brings people together," Hartman said. "With us getting out to be able to play some music, it can have an effect on people in a positive way."
The area around the bandshell is restricted and currently fenced off, though the rest of Elmwood Park is open for visitors.
