Official speaks out after cause found of fire at Atwater Soccer Complex concession stand

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — Investigators in Hopewell say they have determined the cause of a fire that broke out at a concession stand at a soccer field at Atwater Park on Sunday, July 14.

Investigators say the flames were the result of a lit discarded firework that had been placed on top of a trash can near the building. The Hopewell fire marshal is working to determine who is responsible for the devastation left behind by the blaze.

Officials with the department are calling on the public for help. They want to know who was using fireworks in the parking lot of the Atwater soccer complex that Sunday night.

“When I initially arrived, I was a little heartbroken about seeing the building in the condition that it was. That complex is also used for us. That building in the area around it is used as some as part of our fire training,” said Hopewell fire marshal Ben Gomes.

Gomes was in disbelief that a concession stand used by the entire community was gone.

“I knew instantly that that’s one less place that we have as a fire department to help us train to better ourselves,” he said.

After a fire ripped through the building all that remains at the site of the once functioning concession stand is charred pieces of trash.

Fire crews got the call just after 11 p.m., after neighbors reported they heard fireworks going off in the area a few minutes before. Gomes says firefighters were on scene for two hours — after putting the fire out in 35 minutes.

He continued to say that investigators determined what sparked the fire.

“We found of discarded firework material on top of witnesses reporting people shooting fireworks off in the parking lot beforehand,” Gomes said. “So, fireworks in general are a problem in an urban setting.”

Gomes’ office is turning their attention to tracking down who is responsible.

“The biggest problem is everybody wants to talk, but nobody wants to give information up and we need those people to come to us and talk and know that it stays within our office. we’re just trying to figure out who did this,” Gomes said.

However, the biggest loss is considered to be for all those who play on the soccer field and will no longer have a concession stand to use.

“So, we know that those grounds are always being utilized. And now none of the community members, visitors to the city, can use it because of one person or a couple people’s care and careless actions,” Gomes said.

The fire marshal says he is thankful that no one was hurt during the fire.

What’s left of the partially burned concession stand will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

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