Fire Rips Through Cobbs Creek Golf Course
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Crews battled intense flames and frigid temperatures overnight while trying to place a big fire under control at Cobbs Creek Golf Course in Philadelphia.
Flames broke out around 11 p.m. Monday at the golf course in the 7500 block of Cardington Road in the city's Overbrook neighborhood.
Authorities say flames ripped through the clubhouse, causing heavy damage.
Officials say the fire fight was made much harder by water issues in the sub-freezing temperatures. Firefighters say water pressure, already low in the area, complicated their efforts, so Upper Darby fire crews were also on scene supplying additional water.
The overnight cold also made things more difficult.
"We have to be careful the way we operate on a fire ground," said Deputy Fire Chief James Bonner. "The water spraying all over ices things up, so we have to keep our equipment moving so it doesn't ice up, because when we try to take it down it will break. This kind of weather completely changes the way we operate."
The fire was brought under control in just under two hours.
No one was injured in the blaze.
The fire was not being called suspicious but investigators were working to determine the cause.
At midday, firefighters were still pouring water on hot spots as maintenance workers, staffers and regular customers watched solemnly from a distance.
"It's sad. It's part of our lives, it's like our second home."
"It was built in 1916, so 2016, it's the anniversary this year so there you go. There's the building gone."
Ray Jordan, a longtime regular at Cobbs Creek says it was a place to hang out and grab a bite to eat.
But, says Jordan, the course itself was not affected, and no one was hurt.
"It's just a building."
Fire investigators continue to search for the cause of the blaze.
KYW's Paul Kurtz contributed to this story.
