Above: A photo of the Hill Cest Roller Rink in the village of Sidney, New York, on fire late on Tuesday, August 26. Photo via the Delaware County NY Fire Wire & Emergency News Facebook page.
The Hill Crest Roller Rink, a nightlife institution for generations of Delaware County residents, burned to the ground in the village of Sidney on Tuesday, August 26.
The building, a "very, very old" wooden structure located at 2181 County Highway 4, caught fire late in the evening, and was fully engaged quickly, according to Delaware County Undersheriff Craig DuMond.
"The fire burned very hot," he said. "It burned right to the ground almost immediately."
The fire was called in at 11:30 p.m., said the building's owner, Tracey Chapman.
Chapman was out of town on Tuesday night when he got the call that his business was in flames. He raced back to Sidney, and when he arrived it was clear that the roller rink had been destroyed.
"It was a long ride home last night," he said this morning, his voice breaking.
The Hill Crest Roller Rink was built in the 1920s, Chapman said. When the fire started, it was closed for the summer. Chapman had planned to re-open it on September 5.
Chapman grew up skating at the rink. He bought the business five years ago.
"We were like family up there," Chapman said. "I've been going there since I was ten years old. I had friends who would volunteer their time because they loved the place. One friend helped for a long time because her daughter had her birthdays there."
The Hill Crest hosted roller skating and roller derbies on its vintage 1920s wooden floors. The rink also hosted community parties, fundraisers, wrestling, contra and line dancing, and Zumba classes.
After parts of Sidney were heavily damaged by floods in 2011, the rink became a gathering place for many people who had been displaced, Chapman said.
"We're really trying to do stuff for the community," Chapman said. "Trying to keep kids off the street, trying to give them something to do. It was the place for people to go because their place was flooded."
Chapman said that the building was insured.
The cause of the fire is being investigated. The Delaware County Cause & Origin team will be sifting through the debris lat the scene today, DuMond said.
The Hill Crest Roller Rink fire was one of two fires burning in Delaware County last night. The other, a fire at VW Parts in the village of Fleischmanns in eastern Delaware County, began earlier in the evening.
Update 8/29/14: According Delaware County Emergency Services director Steve Hood, the cause of the Hill Crest Roller Rink fire is undetermined, and the investigation is over.
"There are so many different variables we can't rule out," he said. "We can't rule out electric, we can't rule out arson, and we can't rule out spontaneous combustion, because it was such a complete burn."
The investigation into the cause of the blaze is complete, and will likely remain that way unless Hill Crest's insurance company becomes involved, Hood said.
"From a county standpoint, the investigation is complete," he said.
Below: Video of the fire posted on YouTube by Rich Lomnicki, and flood relief dance party at the Hill Crest Roller Rink in 2011. Via the Hill Crest Roller Rink's Facebook page.
