STATter 911: Fire destroys large pier at Solomons Navy Recreation Area in Southern Maryland. Pictures and video from the scene.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Fire destroys large pier at Solomons Navy Recreation Area in Southern Maryland. Pictures and video from the scene.

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Fire Tuesday evening destroyed a largepier at the Solomons Navy Recreation Area in Calvert County, Maryland. These appear to be early pictures of the fire. Later pictures show the entire pier burning.

Reports indicate the ship seen in the picture below was able to be moved from the burning pier, but suffered some damage. Reports indicate it took almost three hours to control the fire.

The smoke could be seen for a great distance through the lower portion of Southern Maryland.

The Solomons Navy Recreation Area is located on the Patuxent River just north and west of the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge connecting Calvert County and St. Mary's County. It is operated by the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

From my recollection, the facility has had at least two other major fires at buildings on the complex over the last 30-years.

The picture below by Matthew Ivancie at St. Mary's Today shows the pier in the upper left with a ship tied up to it.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 11:11 PM

Comments:

People shouold verify facts before posting incorrect information. The fishing pier WAS NOT disturbed. It was the industrial pier that caught fire. How do I know? I fished from the pier that people THINK caught fire all evening. The Navy SPs did come over and tell us that if the wind changed direction and the smoke started to blow to the NW, we would have to evacuate the FISHING PIER since they did not know what toxins were in the smoke. The fishing pier is fine and was open when I left after midnite last evening.

# posted by

Abe Goodwin : April 29, 2009 9:28 AM

This was not "the fishing pier" it was the pier used by the Navy at the industrial site portion of the facility - now mostly a recreation center. Boats used in Navy programs docked there. This was a remnant of the WWII Mines Test Facility. Experimental Torpedoes and Mines were tested there.

# posted by

Anonymous : April 29, 2009 9:32 AM

It's good that they got the fire under control. Hope nobody got hurt.

# posted by

wishbone : April 29, 2009 2:02 PM

Dave you should look into the response from the Navy and the area. The navy has been cutting just about every base to the bare bones. CNIC has reduced or closed several departments in this area and other Base's Nation wide. Some are working Below NFPA requirements for Engine Staffing. At some locations they may not have proper man-power, for minor incident, never mind a event like this. Others have no DOD-Fire coverage at all. This is called contracting out, Against Fed law, But have found a Back door and now have a Volunteer department (No disrespect) covering Military installations. I these days of high security, we are operating in some place's that we could not aid more then two people. Rob
Leave a note if you need some info.

# posted by

Anonymous : April 29, 2009 8:08 PM

Dave, my dad and myself in later years worked at the Solomons Field Station as NOL White Oake called it.
We drove to Solomons only when we needet for work or testing.

The old boat house burned years ago, maybe 1970?
That's when the NAVY told the people that the NAVY FD was going to go away.
Sloomons Vol. Rescue Squad had to go into the firefighting buiness.

Ted Lovell
King George Va.

# posted by

Anonymous : April 29, 2009 8:25 PM

The Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Dept went into the fire business in the year of 1963. They still have the first engine from that year. I remember that Solomons Annex had the Fire Dept still open in the 1980's.....

# posted by

Anonymous : April 30, 2009 11:36 AM