Beloved Philadelphia park severely damaged by fire; repairs to be made

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Much-needed repairs are coming to a West Philadelphia park after a fire damaged most of the property over the weekend.

Fire crews and police responded to Malcolm X Memorial Park's restroom and storage building Saturday around 6:15 a.m.

It took firefighters 20 minutes to get the fire under control, but that was just enough time to cause extensive damage to the small building, electrical wiring, and mural.

"I've lived off and on in this neighborhood for a while. I'd say about 30 years. A lot of things have gone on in that park, but a fire? That's pretty unusual," said Kwame Seth of West Philadelphia.

For others, it's also frustrating.

"This is a really important park for a lot of people that live around here and it should be respected in that way," said Kitty Heite.

Heite is a regular visitor of the park and knows firsthand how hard it's been to preserve the area. She says most efforts to maintain the park are mostly organized by volunteers.

In a statement to Action News, the city's Parks & Rec spokesperson wrote the following:

"Malcolm X Park is a historic site of enormous importance to communities in West Philadelphia. Parks & Rec immediately went to work after the recent fire and already has lighting up for the site. Both Councilmember Gauthier and State Representative Krajewski have secured funding for repairs to the building.

Mural Arts is assessing damage to the mural and will provide updates when available.

We are committed to working diligently to make repairs and reopening the building to the public as soon as we can."

The building will be closed until repairs are made.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.