Fire destroys building at Bear Run Campground
MUDDY CREEK TWP — The first fire in the history of Bear Run Campground on Friday may cause some inconvenience for campers, but the campground will remain open for the last month of the season.
The quick-moving fire started at 10:35 a.m. in a building that housed the campground’s newly renovated laundry room and an arcade, and was extinguished by noon by an army of volunteer firefighters from Butler and Lawrence counties who shuttled water in tanker trucks to the scene from Lake Arthur in nearby Moraine State Park. No one was injured.
‘It spread so fast,” said Bear Run owner Keith Wehr. ”It was a shock.”
The fire might have started in an electric service panel in the building, but investigators will determine the cause, he said.
“Luckily, we were able to contain it to one building,” Wehr said.
A camper near the building was not damaged.
He commended his staff, who used garden hoses to fight the fire before firefighters arrived and used the campground’s backhoes to assist firefighters by digging into the burning structure and allowing water to reach the flames.
“The staff was fantastic. The firefighters — right on their game,” Wehr said.
He said it was the first fire in the history of the campground that his family opened in 1975. He said they built every building, including the laundry and arcade building in 1980.
The laundry room was recently renovated and new machines were installed.
“We have good insurance,” Wehr said.
He said he was at McConnells Mill State Park helping the Rotary Club of Portersville and Prospect set up for the annual McConnells Mill Heritage Festival, when the fire started. The festival takes place Saturday and Sunday.
The campground will remain open through Oct. 31, when it closes for the season.
There were 14 campers in the area of the campground closest to the building and a church group was camping a farther distance away.
Todd Hinkle, assistant chief of the Portersville Muddy Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department, also said the fire might have started in the building’s electrical system, and a state police fire marshal was called to determine the cause.
The single story, wood-framed building had a metal roof.
Janie Potts, a Butler native living in Ohio, was camping for the weekend to visit family members, also said the fire spread quickly.
“We heard crackling. We came outside and it was in flames,” Potts said.
She said employees were quick to try to extinguish the fire and attempt to remove equipment from the building.
