The March 21 fire at the Wallace Emerson BMX Bike Park on Dufferin St. turned several ramps and bowls into a pile of ash and twisted timbers. The early-morning blaze also destroyed a number of renowned murals by local artists.

Crime Stoppers Const. Scott Mills, who worked with youngsters to create murals on the ramps and bowls, said the fire is reported to have been accidentally started by loiterers.

Though disappointed by the damage, Michael Heaton, the park’s builder, said he was relieved the blaze wasn’t a deliberate attack on local riders.

“It was bad it burned, but it’s good to know that it wasn’t started by a group that was out there making statements like ‘we hate your ramps, we hate your sport, we don’t want you here,’” said Heaton.

The fire was quickly contained by firefighters, but left Heaton with at least two months’ work of rebuilding. So far, he’s had help from riders and locals, who helped in salvaging some structures to keep the park partly open.

However, the artwork was forever lost – including a mural of a cheetah which won local artist Vivana Astudillo an award from the Governor General of Canada.

Many of the artists teamed up with the Service in painting the murals, which served as legitimate venues for showcasing their work.

“I’m definitely angry,” said Kedre Browne, a former illegal tagger who lost a mural he painted with fellow artist Jessey Pacho. “It was one of the paintings we did together as our first legal paintings… it was a landscape of Toronto.”

Plans for rebuilding the lost portions of the bike park, near Dupont and Dufferin Sts., are already in the works.

“It’s going to be rebuilt,” said a confident Heaton, who developed the park two years ago with $40,000 of his own.

Janna Van Hoof, of Style in Progress, a community group whose artists painted some of the lost murals, added a number of artists are already keen to get to replace the lost artwork.

Police Foundations students from Humber College have also set up a trust fund for rebuilding costs.

Mills encouraged anyone with relevant information to call Det. Gord Scott, 416-808-1410, Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Donations can be made at any TD Canada Trust branch through the BMX Bike Park Fire Damage Rebuilding Fund.

YouTube videos documenting the damage from the fire can be viewed at:

http://www.youtube.com/TorontoBMX

To help out with the trust fund or rebuilding efforts, go to:

www.communitycave.com

www.csicommunity.com

www.torontobmx.ca

By Louis Tam