DAYTON — Street crews tore down part of a playground after a fire destroyed it. Officials said someone set the fire on purpose at Bomberger Park in Dayton.
There is a childcare center at the Turkish American Center, and the children love to play at Bomberger Park.
However, all that’s left are three swings, a small slide, and a dinosaur.
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Assistant Fire Chief Brad French told News Center 7 his firefighters headed for the park around 4 a.m. Sunday.
“They found playground equipment that had been set on fire. They put the fire out, and thankfully, there were no injuries, but there was significant damage to the playground equipment and significant dollar loss going to be involved in this incident as a result of the fire,” French said.
He said fire officials believe the fire was intentionally set. “We think this was an act of arson, and we want to find out who did it,” French said.
Debbie Venys with the German Club said, “It’s heartbreaking driving by it. Coming here every day,” She continued, “Part of the German Fest Picnic with moving the festival here, having moved into Bomberger Park has been key because it brings more opportunities for families, and that’s what German Fest Picnic is all about.”
During mass on Sunday, they collected donations and gave them to different organizations.
“And we made a donation several years ago toward the fundraising for Bomberger Park, so it’s very key and near and dear to us with the playground equipment,” Venys, said.
This Sunday, August 10, they will be donating to help rebuild Bomberger Park.
“We have a lot of neighborhoods in the city of Dayton that have a lot of community pride, and they have nice things in their neighborhood. They want to keep them nice,” French said. “I want to try to make sure folks understand that this won’t be tolerated in the city of Dayton. And we’re going to continue to investigate until we find out who did this.”
French told News Center 7 that if anyone has information about the fire, they should call the fire department at 937-333-TIPS or Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-STOP.
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