By JEFF STITT
A recent fire at the Buena Vista Volunteer Fire Rescue Company Swimming Pool in Elizabeth Township isn’t stopping faithful pool patrons from splashing in the summer sun.
The pool reopened Saturday, just two days after the guardhouse and men’s and women’s locker rooms/bathrooms were destroyed by a fire.
“Guess what?! We will be open TODAY!! Please be patient, please be kind. Bear with us as we begin to rebuild,” Buena Vista Pool wrote on its Facebook page early Saturday morning. “Thank you. See you at the pool #buenystrong.”
“We waited pretty late to announce that we were reopening in case anything went wrong, but the water levels are fine,” said Heather Kaley, one of the pool’s managers.
Two 13-year-old suspects were arrested by Elizabeth Township police and were processed through the juvenile justice system with several felony charges, including arson and charges related to manufacturing and possessing incendiary devices.
No one was injured in the blaze, but investigators allege the pair of teenagers used Molotov cocktails to start the fire.
Kaley said Sunday that she was heartbroken when she learned early Thursday morning that the pool facilities had caught fire.
“It was a nightmare of a day,” she said.
Kaley said the pool chemical and pump rooms were not damaged in the fire. She said if the chemicals would have caught fire, the blaze and the damage it would have caused would most likely have been much more severe.
She said it’s a relief the pool pumps weren’t damaged because fixing or replacing pool pumps comes with a high price tag.
Kaley said the only damage to the pool itself is some charred paint on the top of the right wall between the 3- and 5-foot-markers.
“That’s not enough to keep us closed,” she said.
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