Residents of a San Francisco neighborhood were both saddened and outraged this week after a suspicious fire destroyed play structures at a children’s playground near the Ferry Building.
Sue Biermann Park, located at Washington and Drumm streets, remained closed after a fire late Thursday badly damaged it, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department officials said.
Firefighters responded to the park around 11:30 p.m. Although they were able to successfully extinguish the blaze, it destroyed a slide, a pirate ship, and rubber safety surfacing, park officials said.
A separate nearby children’s play area at the park was not damaged. However, the entire play area remained closed through the weekend and parts that were not damaged in the fire could reopen this week, park officials said.
“This is heartbreaking and infuriating,” Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg said in a statement. “This playground was a dream that neighborhood families worked very hard to achieve.”
Both the San Francisco Fire Department and the Police Department are investigating what caused the fire.
Sue Biermann Park opened in 2011. After the neighborhood group Friends of the Waterfront Playground advocated for a new state-of-the-art playground, the playground was built in 2013, with its $870,000 price tag being funded mostly through private donations and corporate sponsorships.