Five Ponds Golf Clubhouse Controlled Burn Canceled

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — The controlled burn of the old Five Ponds Golf Course clubhouse planned for this weekend has been cancelled indefinitely.

While officials are blaming "unfavorable wind conditions," residents who live in the homes around the clubhouse have criticized the township for wanting to hold such a burn instead of just demolishing the building.

The Warminster Township Fire Department, Hartsville Fire Company, and Warminster Township career firefighters had planned to conduct a structural fire training at the vacated Five Ponds Clubhouse on Saturday.

However, due to "unfavorable wind conditions" officials say will impact residents living on Five Ponds Circle and Worthington Drive, the burn was cancelled with no plans to reschedule.

Joel Mickelberg, president of the Villas Of Five Ponds, had questioned the burn, stating that it could impact about 36 of the 280 homes in the complex, releasing toxins into the air that could be harmful to residents with respiratory problems.

Despite the cancelled burn, fire crews will still be on site for a training exercise at the clubhouse from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

The drill will include fire crews pulling lines and working search, ventilation and forcible entry evolutions.
You will see apparatus but there is no fire and no emergency," officials said.

Officials explained what a "training evolution" like this takes, and what it means to walk away from one.

• 46 volunteer and career personnel spent an average of four hours each preparing the structure, better than 180 hours of work, clearing chemicals, furnishings, appliances and pressure-treated materials, and bringing the building up to the condition NFPA 1403 requires.
• 46 members attended the first hands-on training day under Pennsylvania State Fire Academy instructors. The class was capped at 30 students. Another 16 stepped forward to fill logistics and support roles so the day could happen at all.
  Central Bucks EMS, Warminster Township Public Works, and Five Ponds Golf Course each committed people and resources to Saturday.

"For the residents of Five Ponds Circle and the surrounding neighborhoods, thank you for your patience, and for trusting the township and volunteer fire companies with this," Township Commissioners Chairman Kenneth Hayes said.