CPD officers said earlier in the morning they had received reports of a vehicle fire, but Flagler said that wasn’t the case.
When fire crews got there, they found the playground at Sawyer Point Park in flames. Flagler said they do not know what started the fire and it remains under investigation.
“When we got down here, the park underneath the bridge was completely engulfed,” said CPD Lieutenant Patrick Caton. “Flames were reaching up over the front of the park, up over the bridge and it was, it was actually doing damage to the bridge.”
Caton said the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge itself caught fire.
The fire at the park quickly grew and, because of the volume of the blaze, multiple fire crews were called in to fight it.
“That playground was heavily involved in fire and the fire actually transmitted to the bridge structure of the I-471 bridge,” said Assistant Fire Chief Matt Flagler. “There’s some netting and some equipment underneath that bridge that also caught fire.”
The fire was contained, according to CFD. At around 8:15 a.m. flames could again be seen under the bridge.
Flagler said the fire at the playground was extinguished fairly quickly, but the fire that spread to the bridge was complex and “has done some damage to the structural steel that’s on that bridge.”
KYTC and ODOT were on scene and said there is no timeline for when the bridge might re-open.
CPD said no one was injured in the fire, but it caused significant property damage.
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