Fireworks to blame for fire that destroyed turf on Dallas baseball field

DALLAS - Fire investigators have ruled a Sunday blaze that scorched a baseball field at a Dallas park as accidental, blaming expended fireworks for sparking the fire.

Willis C. Winters Park fire

What we know:

Dallas Fire-Rescue units were dispatched to Willis C. Winters Park, located at 303 S. Glasgow Dr., following reports of a fire.

Firefighters arrived to find flames burning in the outfield of the park's baseball field. Crews deployed a hand line and quickly extinguished the fire, but not before the flames spread in multiple directions, scorching the outfield wall.

Following the blaze, crews discovered the remnants of two expended bottle rockets on the field. Fire investigators were called to the scene to conduct a further review.

Investigators found no witnesses who saw the fire in its initial stages. A park representative told officials that the property was secured at the time of the incident. While security cameras are active at the location, none of them were facing the outfield.

Based on the investigation, Dallas Fire-Rescue classified the cause of the fire as accidental, determining that an open flame from fireworks came into contact with ordinary combustibles on the field's synthetic playing surface.

No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.

Local perspective:

Willis Winters Park is used by students at Woodrow Wilson High School, J.L. Long Middle School, and others.

The field had just been converted from grass to turf in April. It was paid for with $1 million from the City of Dallas' 2024 bond, which Dallas ISD matched due to strong advocacy for a turf field.

Dallas Parks board members say it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the field.

What they're saying:

"My first reaction was sadness," Joe Ruzicka, the J.L. Long Athletic Booster Club President, tells FOX 4's Lori Brown.

"We'd just gotten the field redone. Now we have to be in the same format where we don't have spaces for the kids to play or practice."

Barbara Cohen, the President of Friends of Willis Winters Park, lamented that the fire destroyed the field so quickly after it was redone.

"For so many years, people have been wanting improvements. To finally get them improved to this high grade, and have them destroyed so quickly by a firework…" Cohen said.

Dallas Parks board member Rudy Karimi told FOX 4 in a statement:

"To the individuals who did this, I hope you see the damage you’ve done. I hope you understand how hard the community had to advocate for these fields, and how hard we had to look to find the dollars needed to build it. I hope the guilt is eating you alive. We will rebuild this field, but that guilt will live with you forever." 

What's next:

Assistant Parks Director Ryan O'Connor tells FOX 4 the city will discuss a repair plan with Dallas ISD and determine if filing an insurance claim is possible.

No repair timeline has been established.

Old East DallasDallas