A little league is counting its losses after an overnight fire tore through their clubhouse, destroying a stockpile of baseball equipment, uniforms and decades of memories.
“It’s just devastating, it’s terrible,” said North Bellmore North Merrick Little League President Craig Kute.
Kute showed News 4 what is left of their space, which served as a homebase for hundreds of children who play softball and baseball in the North Bellmore North Merrick Little League.
The league's equipment, uniforms, helmets and bases were all melted and burnt in the fire, as well as trophies and banner that marked the many years of successes.
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The fire broke out just after 1 a.m. Friday. The North Bellmore Fire Department responded first with mutual aid helping. It took 50 firefighters to knock down the flames. But in that 45 minutes, most of the contents were destroyed. No one was injured.
“No one was hurt, nobody’s hurt,” said Kute. “The equipment can be bought again and community will come together as a whole.”
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Already Kute has established a GoFundMe page and he says the other leagues in his district have reached out offering support. It’s not clear how much it will take to replace the items, but Kute says they have to do it before the fall season which starts in a few weeks.
The Town of Hempstead owns the field and during the day Friday, workers were put fencing around the structure.
“After the investigation is done we are probably going to be looking at a new structure here,” said Town Supervsior Don Clavin. He also brought in porta potties to replace the bathrooms destroyed in the fire.
The Nassau County Fire Marshal says the fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious and may have started with an electric stove. The league isn’t letting this fire set them back. Games scheduled for their field will be played this weekend.
