CONNEAUT LAKE — The Blue Streak roller coaster, one of the most iconic rides at the Conneaut Lake Park amusement park, has been damaged by fire. It was being dismantled prior to the blaze, a park official said in a Facebook post Tuesday night.
The post said: “A burn permit was also issued to have small controlled fires to burn the wood as demolition continued. A mechanical issue occurred to the heavy equipment used to assist in the control, causing the fire to spread to the front part of the loading dock.
“To ensure safety the Fire Department was called to assist. Thankfully no one was hurt.
The rest of the Blue Streak will come down in the next few days per permit.”
A dispatcher at Crawford County 911 said the fire was reported at 4:23 p.m. on Tuesday. Crews cleared the scene by about 6:30 p.m.
The Summit Township Volunteer Fire Department was the first crew to arrive, according to Crawford 911. Crews from Vernon Central Volunteer Fire Department, Linesville and North Shenango fire departments also responded.
The call came in as a controlled burn that escalated to a working fire on the coaster, which first opened in 1938. From reports at the scene, it appears the coaster was in the process of being dismantled, and piles of debris were being burned.
“Three piles [of debris] were burning,” said Dan O’Meara, chief of the Summit Township Volunteer Fire Department. “The main pile caught the Blue Streak on fire because the wind shifted.”
Conneaut Lake Park owner Todd Joseph was on the scene at the time of the fire.
“He’s the one who called it in because it got out of hand. He [came] right down and talked to me,” O’Meara said.
Joseph could not be reached for comment.
O’Meara said there was heavy damage to the building that houses the passenger loading area for the Blue Streak, which was in pieces when crews got there.
“It’s gone,” said O’Meara, of the main coaster structures. “So, it must have been dismantled. The tracks and everything are gone.
“We were more worried about the carousel,” O’Meara said. “We wanted to save the carousel,” which was not damaged in the fire, O’Meara said. He said the coaster’s loading area was heavily damaged and will be torn down on Wednesday.
The status of the 129-year-old park has been in question since Joseph, through his company, Keldon Holdings LLC, purchased the park in March out of bankruptcy.
Rides have been posted for sale on UsedRides.com, which features rides from amusement parks and carnivals from around the country, since the park closed for the season after the Labor Day weekend. And complaint from neighbors concerning park operations landed Joseph in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in November.
In a September interview with the Erie Times-News, Joseph would only say, “I want to talk about the events and the concerts,” he said. “We don’t want to do any press [on the amusement park] at this point. We will kick that can down the road.”
First Published: January 5, 2022, 3:52 a.m.
