North Bellmore North Merrick Little League suffers from devastating fire

A clubhouse that was the main hub of the North Bellmore North Merrick Little League suffered a devastating fire around 1 a.m. on July 28.

According to an Instagram post shared by the North Bellmore Fire Department, the department was alerted of a possible structural fire at Gunther Field, which is located at the intersection of Bellmore Avenue and Logue Street. Chief Nicholas Zaharis arrived on the scene, and saw heavy smoke coming from a 2-story storage shed.

The fire was controlled within an hour and no injuries were reported. Mutual aid at the scene was provided by the North Merrick Fire Department and the Bellmore Fire Department. Units from Wantagh, Merrick and Seaford were on standby.

A GoFundMe was created to help the league recover.

“Our league used this building for meetings, training and storage for the league to facilitate all softball and baseball activities throughout the community,” the post reads. “The loss of uniforms, softballs, baseballs, equipment, space and memories is immeasurable.”

Craig Kute, president of the league, said the fire appears to have started from an oven that was in the clubhouse, that was previously used to make food on opening days. The clubhouse is where they league’s board had its bimonthly meetings, and it also housed bathrooms for the field at Gunther.

“We had an entire full season ready to go in terms of fall uniforms,” Kute said. “We had catchers’ gear — field supplies — bases, even just fence markers. That was our storage facility. Whatever we stockpiled over the years was really kind of there.”

Despite the destruction of the clubhouse, games will still be able to place at Gunther, Kute said. “Hundreds and hundreds of kids play of that field every season,” he said. “it’s really one of the nicest fields in the area.”

The building is still be assessed, but it is likely it will be deemed a total loss due to the devastation inside. Kute said several local little leagues, including Merrick-Bellmore, Farmingdale, Wantagh, Seaford and Oceanside, among others, have offered support as North Bellmore North Merrick recovers from the loss.

The league also lost a brand new scoreboard, that was to be installed this year at Saw Mill Road School, which also has fields the league uses for games.

The Town of Hempstead and Supervisor Don Clavin have offered their support, Kute said. “The town has been absolutely phenomenal,” he added. “The guys that have come over here, they’ve gotten us a storage container so as soon as they everything cleared up, we can see what we can salvage from there.”

To help the league recover, visit GoFundMe.com/f/NBNM-Little-League-Clubhouse-Fire.

“It’s just terrible,” Kute said. “The toughest part about it is, we’re asking the community to help us. But they’ve helped us every step of the way. We’re completely devoted to our community, and they’re devoted to us.”