Residents awoke to the sound of sirens early Sunday morning as Hastings firefighters arrived at Lions Park. Around 3:00 a.m. the Hastings fire department received a call for a possible structure fire …
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Residents awoke to the sound of sirens early Sunday morning as Hastings firefighters arrived at Lions Park. Around 3:00 a.m. the Hastings fire department received a call for a possible structure fire at Lions Park. When the Fire Department arrived, “We found the shelter warming house fully engulfed in flames,” said Hastings Fire Chief John Townsend. Assisted by the Hastings Police, the firefighters were on the scene until 4:30 putting out the fire. No injuries were sustained. The rest of the park remains undamaged, and restrooms are still available.
As to the cause of the fire, according to Townsend, it is currently undetermined but investigations are ongoing. That being said, the fire being able to grow so large “is indicative of the time of day,” said Townsend. Because the fire took place early in the morning when few were around to see it, it was able to grow larger than it might have otherwise were it burning during the day when someone might have seen the flames and smoke and reported it sooner.
The warming house was constructed in 2007 for a cost of $140,000. As to a timeline for replacement or renovation, “everything is kind of up in the air at this point,” said Chris Jenkins, Hastings Parks and Recreation Director. Beyond the fire departments investigation, the city’s insurance might also investigate the fire and any action beyond that is dependent on the findings of those investigations. “We have to wait for those investigations to end before we can move forward with anything,” said Jenkins.
Lions Park received a facelift in recent years with a new playground installed in July of 2018. Trees were planted along the walking path through the park in 2019 and in 2023 a dugout was constructed for the baseball diamond there along with laser grading for the field.
Based off a 2022 report from the city, the Lions Park warming house totals around 1,000 patrons each winter, serving skaters, hockey players, and community members alike from December to February.
The entire Hastings outdoor rink system staffed 10 seasonal workers in 2023 across 5 outdoor rinks and 3 warming houses including Lions Park.
