By Dan Zak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 30, 2006; SM05

A wooden pavilion at Chesapeake Hills Golf Club in Lusby was deliberately set on fire and burned to the ground early Thursday, according to Deputy State Fire Marshal Don Brenneman. The blaze destroyed the 4,000-square-foot structure and the 73 gas-powered golf carts inside it, causing $500,000 worth of damage.

The fire was set between 2:30 and 4 a.m., and a neighbor called the fire department, Brenneman said. Investigators found the origin of the fire, and an accelerant had been used, he said.

Lights from the firetrucks woke up Adam McComas, the assistant golf professional at the club, who lives within sight of the pavilion. The structure was engulfed in flames, he said.

"I just looked out my window, and my heart sank," McComas said. "I just couldn't believe it."

Thursday afternoon, the charred frames of golf carts rested under blackened pieces of the collapsed roof. Some of the surrounding grass was singed.

McComas said the club, which is owned by the Maryland Economic Development Corp., is looking into renting carts. Carts account for the majority of golf-related revenue at the club, he said.

The club has long been the target of vandalism, McComas said. Signs have been taken, flagsticks have been thrown into water hazards, and kids sometimes ride their bikes on the greens, but nothing ever approached the magnitude of Thursday's fire, McComas said.

Brenneman said he conducted interviews in the community all day Friday and expects a break in the case soon.

"It's like a puzzle right now," he said. "We know there were some young men in the area at the time [of the fire]. They might be witnesses."

The course was closed Thursday morning but reopened at 1 p.m. for golfers who didn't mind walking.