Suspicious fire damages empty pool building

This is an updated version of a story posted Wednesday evening.

BARSTOW — Firefighters battled a fire on the roof of the out-of-service Al Vigil Swim Center on Barstow Road on Wednesday night.
The fire is suspicious and its cause is under investigation, Barstow Fire Protection District Capt. Rich Ross said.

He estimated the damages at $10,000. The blaze started as an external fire on top of the roof but caused some structural and smoke damage to the inside of the building.

A pair of city employees spotted the fire and called it in at about 7:48 p.m. The employees were able to let firefighters into the building, speeding up the response time. It took two engines and a truck from the Barstow fire district and one engine from the Marine Corps Logistics Base about ten minutes to put out the blaze, Ross said.

The swim center was built by the city of Barstow 1981 with $3.2 million in redevelopment funds. The pool closed for good in early 1999, city spokesman John Rader said, but the city held dance classes and other activities in the building until 2005, when it was condemned due to roof damage. Since then, the building has been frequently tagged with graffiti but has not suffered any major vandalism, he said.

The city is currently looking for grants to repair the building and reopen it as a multi-use community center.

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