Update: Developer of Visitation Academy site says project will move ahead after fire
Apr. 1—The developer of a hotel at the Visitation Academy site in downtown Frederick plans to move ahead with the project after a fire damaged part of the building Saturday night.
"Our plans haven't changed. What we do is restore old buildings," developer Jim O'Hare said in an interview Sunday.
Heavy winds Saturday night caused some gutters to come off of the building and into contact with power lines, Sarah Campbell, a spokeswoman for Frederick County Fire and Rescue Services, said Sunday.
The two-alarm blaze caused an estimated $200,000 in damage, mostly along the building's roofline, Campbell said.
O'Hare praised fire crews' quick response, and said the damage was fortunately limited to one section of the building, former classrooms that are slated to become hotel rooms in the boutique hotel.
Most of the damage was related to water rather than the fire itself, he said.
Plans for the Marriott-affiliated Visitation Hotel Frederick, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, also include an upscale restaurant in the school's deconsecrated chapel area, along with other amenities.
The hotel on the site of the former all-girls Catholic school was expected to open sometime in the second half of 2023, and O'Hare said Sunday that the fire will only push the opening back by months at worst.
The hotel is planned for 57 standard rooms and 10 extended-stay rooms.
At around 8:34 p.m., Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services units were dispatched to the building at 200 East 2nd Street to respond to reports of heavy fire from the building's roof, Deputy Chief Kenneth Poole said Saturday.
No injuries were reported.
As far as he knew, the building was unoccupied, Poole said, and responding units initially faced difficulties in maneuvering engines to access the building due to the narrowness of Chapel Alley.
Once in position, crews concentrated on the third floor and the attic, where the fire was most severe, according to Poole.
The building's renovations further complicated access to those areas because of the state of the stairways, Poole said.
Eventually, Fire and Rescue crews reached the fire from the building's interior and exterior.
There were two ladder trucks on the building's northwest side by Chapel Alley and another two ladder trucks on the east side of the building by the complex's courtyard.
Both sets of engines concentrated hoses on the building's roof and a set of dormers jutting from either side of the building.
Flames emanating from the dormers were stoked by gusting winds, which Poole said had a tremendous impact on firefighting efforts.
"The wind was blowing from the west, which is straight across the roofline," Poole said. "And once those dormers started failing, it lets that wind come right through in what we call a wind-driven fire."
Flames appeared from the sides of the rooftop dormers.
One firefighter worked from the inside of a burning dormer, smashing the middle of the structure and breaking away material between the building's interior and flames on the dormer's exterior.
Underneath, a group of firefighters worked at the structure from the third-floor balcony.
Water from the engines cascaded down from the roof, pooling in the courtyard. Poole said there would likely be heavy water damage to the building.
In all, Poole said, there were about 100 firefighters and 30 vehicle units that included ladder trucks, rescue squads and ambulances as of 11 p.m. Saturday.
Poole said employees from Potomac Edison and Washington Gas worked on securing utilities to the building.
Crews from Frederick, Walkersville, Adamstown and Fort Detrick were among those at the scene.
Visitation Academy was an all-girls Catholic School on East 2nd Street.
It opened in 1846 and closed in June 2016, citing low enrollment.
The site was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and nuns lived on the property until 2005. About 110 of them are buried in a cemetery in the rear courtyard, which will be preserved as part of the project.
