Quincy Yacht Club fire leaves people scrambling

QUINCY, Mass. -- A fire at the historic Quincy Yacht Club caused a significant amount of damage inside, which has left numerous people scrambling to find a new location for their upcoming events.

“It’s awful. It’s a terrible, terrible thing…So many gatherings. I actually have a party booked the 25th. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said a member of the club.

The 138-year-old building is the heart and soul of the community.

“We’ve got to rebook and call people and let them know that if they had a wedding planned they need to find someplace else, unfortunately, which I would be devastated,” said one woman.

The fire was first spotted by a commuter boat and then Buddy Campbell, who called 911 and got to work.

“I was filling a color up with water and dumping it on it. Filling it up from the beach and just dumping it on it so it wouldn’t burn the whole place down,” said Campbell.

By the time firefighters arrived, the inside of the building was cooked.

“The sprinklers actually went off, but the fire was in the walls where the sprinklers aren’t. It had a lot of extension that was hidden,” said a firefighter.

Now, people are working to find new places to hold their events.

“My [baby] shower was supposed to be there in six weeks. We already wrote out all the invitations and everything. Luckily they’re not in the mail yet,” said one woman.

The Yacht Club had a 300-person event scheduled for Saturday night, but it has been cancelled.

Due to Friday night’s expected weather conditions, firefighters said someone will stay overnight to monitor the building to make sure nothing fans anymore flames.

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