Bristol YC: "More than a building; we are a community" –BYC Comm. Ruth Souto after Sunday&

BRISTOL, RI (#1117) – The Bristol Yacht Club says it will be closed until further notice after a fire caused substantial damage at its clubhouse Sunday afternoon. The yacht club on Poppasquash Road said the fire started in the mulch outside the kitchen and grew into a four-alarm blaze. There were no injuries, the yacht club said.“The Bristol Yacht Club is more than a building; we are a community and will work together to overcome this unfortunate circumstance,” Commodore Ruth E. Souto said in a written statement. Chief Michael DeMello of the Bristol Fire Department said authorities believe the fire was caused by someone throwing a cigarette butt or some other smoking material in the mulch, possibly from the night before. The fire took a “labor-intensive” hour and a half to put out, DeMello said. “They did a heck of a job,” DeMello said. –Brian Amaral writing in this morning's (Monday) Providence Journal.

No one was hurt, but the building was badly damaged on the south side, the chief said. Discarded smoking materials may have been the cause. Photos courtesy of EastBayRI.com.

While we are on Bristol, RI, we note is the recently-new home of US Sailing – having moved over the years steadily north, from New York, to Newport, to Portsmouth, and now Bristol. The Herreshoff Marine Museum, which houses the America's Cup Hall of Fame, is also located in Bristol, as is Roger Williams University with it's excellent sailing center....