Weddings, golf affected by Oak Meadows fire

Investigators believe a four-alarm fire that virtually destroyed the 86-year-old clubhouse at Oak Meadows Golf Course in Addison was sparked by a lightning strike.

No one was injured in the Thursday night blaze that DuPage County Forest Preserve officials estimate caused roughly $3 million damage. Oak Meadows is one of three golf courses operated by the forest preserve and the first one it purchased.

"It's really a tragedy we lost a historical building out here," forest preserve President Dewey Pierotti said. "We certainly plan to build a new facility on the site that will enable us to go forward with golf operations and banquets, but right now everything is in a state of upheaval."

More than 100 firefighters from 26 agencies, led by the Addison Fire Department, responded to the blaze that was reported at 7:55 p.m. at the building at 900 N. Wood Dale Road in Addison. The fire was under control by 1 a.m. Friday, but the last units didn't clear the scene until 7 a.m., fire officials said.

Forest preserve police officers discovered the fire after responding to a burglar alarm that went off at 7:01 p.m. Forest preserve police Chief Tom Wakolbinger said the first responding officer arrived at the clubhouse about 15 minutes after the alarm sounded, but department protocol requires entry into a building for a burglar alarm call be done by at least two officers. The second officer showed up about 10 minutes later, Wakolbinger said.

Once the two officers went inside about 7:30 p.m. they could find no evidence of a burglary, but soon one of the officers faintly smelled smoke.

"He said it was like someone blew a candle out," Wakolbinger said.

The officers could see a hint of smoke coming out of the ceiling and called in the fire about 7:50 p.m., the chief said.

Though the building is outfitted with fire alarms, they never sounded, Wakolbinger said. Investigators are trying to determine why the alarms never rang, though fire officials aren't sure it would have made much difference because of the location of the blaze.

"Over the years there have been several modifications to the roof, so there are different layers of the roof up there," Deputy Fire Chief Don Markowski said. "The fire was in between the void spaces and there was no way for us to get to it to put it out."

The district bought the golf course in 1985 and made several improvements over the years, but didn't add a sprinkler system because it wasn't required when the building was acquired.

While many of the walls are still standing, Pierotti said he was told all the ceilings and floors of the large hall collapsed into the basement.

Golf operations at the course will be minimally impacted, though the locker room was damaged in the fire. However, the popular banquet hall that plays host to more than 50 wedding receptions a year and scores of other events will be out of commission for the foreseeable future. That includes this weekend's annual bridal show.

"We had over 220 people registered to come out Saturday," said Dean Westrom, the district's director of golf operations. "It was our biggest one yet. All the vendors were scheduled to come in today to set up, but we had all the tables and serving trays out and ready."

Forest preserve officials said they are working with couples who had booked the banquet hall for weddings this year and even next year. They are urging anyone who had scheduled an event at Oak Meadows to call the forest preserve at (630) 616-8424.

Pierotti said some events could be moved to other forest preserve locations, though the recently opened St. James Farm in Warrenville likely wouldn't be one of the venues made available to the displaced events. He said the Danada House in Wheaton and Maple Meadows Golf Course in Wood Dale would be more suitable.

Oak Meadows is the former Elmhurst Country Club. It derives its new name from the centuries old oaks line the fairways at the club, district officials said. The building was erected in 1923 and its walls were lined with photographs that told the history of the course, including legendary golfer Ben Hogan's 1941 Chicago Open victory there.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=275488">Fire damages clubhouse at Oak Meadows golf course <span class="date">[02/26/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>