Monday, September 20, 1999
Zoo fire causes $200,000 damage to pavilion area
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden opened Sunday despite a fire that caused $200,000 damage to the pavilion area.
The fire's cause remained under investigation, District 3 Fire Chief Glen Coleman said.
No animals were injured or needed to be moved. The closest animals, those in the nocturnal house, were well out of reach.
Zoo spokeswoman Barbara Rish said the fire did not affect attendance Sunday, a warm afternoon she described as “very crowded.”
The two-alarm fire was reported at 2:40 a.m. and apparently started at The Pavilion, formerly called the Peacock Pavilion, which is adjacent to the ice rink used for the winter-season Festival of Lights.
The fire also damaged nearby storage areas.
“The stage is gone,” Ms. Rish said, “but we'll have our ice rink.”
She added there is no indication the fire would affect the opening of the lights festival.
Forty-eight firefighters fought the fire for three and a half hours. The first unit to arrive called in the second alarm.
A previous night-time fire at the zoo, a five-alarm blaze in May 1998, delayed the opening of the $4 million manatee exhibit. It started when a propane torch ignited wood, which smoldered for hours. The fire was ruled accidental. The zoo opened the following day.
The zoo, in Cincinnati's Avondale neighborhood, annually draws about 1.3 million patrons.
Motorist barrels through festival
Sirens and cries replace laughter
Emergency crews from neighboring areas help
No one's teasing Miss America now
Development rides along
UC freshmen get welcome and warning
$300,000 drug ring busted up, police say
Tax foes hope to grab city voters
Suspect in April slaying arrested
Zoo fire causes $200,000 damage to pavilion area
Education proves to be his racket
Just a model kid
Monroe workers together at last
Proliferating wildlife irks homeowners
ROTC marches into Silver Grove
Warren Co. resources a click away
Cable show highlights Cincinnati neighborhoods
GET TO IT
TRISTATE DIGEST
Drought puts levels lower in reservoirs
Schools get schedule for funds
Want a hefty raise? Show boss you've earned it
