Burned train bridge dashes plans for park Smoke fills the sky as a Green Bay firefighter charges hoses on Engine 1 while battling a fire on the railroad bridge at Porlier Street Friday (photo by H. Marc Larson). By Jessica La Plante News-Chronicle Viewed by some as a diamond-in-the-rough awaiting refurbishment, the Porlier Street train trestle that was poised to become a riverfront attraction under one local group's proposal drew more than its fair share of attention Friday. Surrounded by black smoke and firefighters, the 120-year-old bridge might have lost its last chance to serve the city of Green Bay in any other capacity than ornamental. After the bridge fell victim to a "suspicious" fire this week, members of Leadership of Green Bay - a group led by Green Bay's Chamber of Commerce - said they might have to scrap four years of research spent planning the bridge's comeback as a future observation deck and fishing platform. When the group found out about the blaze, "We were concerned," said Jeanne Agneessens, program manager for Leadership of Green Bay. "We were trying to utilize what was there since we knew it would be a bulkhead for the (Fox River) trail and a great place to relax," she said. "It appears this is going to be a big detriment to the project." From mid-morning to early dusk, a crew of more two dozen firefighters, coast guard divers and public works officials swarmed about the bridge to extinguish a fire that covered the river's East bank in a shroud of oily smoke. Green Bay Fire Chief Jeff Stauber said investigators have labeled foul play the likely cause of the fire, but have not completed a damage assessment yet. As of Sunday night, Green Bay officials could not confirm the extent of the bridge's structural damage, nor whether the bridge could be salvaged for park purposes. Stauber said the train trestle, which has been decommissioned since the 1990s, caught fire sometime around 10:30 a.m. He said a bus driver passing through the area spotted the blaze and reported it at the fire station, located just a few blocks from Porlier. Meanwhile, Green Bay police received reports from citizens who said they witnessed a group of teenagers dashing away from the scene just before the blaze ignited. Despite the fire house's close proximity to the bridge, suppressing the fire posed a special challenge for the Green Bay department that found itself battling its first-ever off-shore blaze. Stauber said because the bridge trestle was covered in the oil-based preservative, creosote, the fire quickly spread across the bridge and withstood several beatings by the fire crews. The creosote "is why all the black smoke covered the city for awhile," he said. "It's almost like burning oil." Although fire crews were able to quickly control the fire on the bridge's East side, Stauber said the portion of the trestle stretching out over the waters posed a special problem for his team. Because Stauber's department is not equipped for off-shore firefighting, the team asked for help from the U.S. Coast Guard and the city's Public Works department. "We were trying to get at it using creative firefighting techniques," Stauber said. "This is the first time we've used a barge to firefight." While the city's public works department loaned Stauber's crew a barge, Coast Guard rescue workers stood by throughout the day to help any firefighters who might be injured on the job. By 6 p.m. Friday, the fire had smoldered to a halt, leaving only a few workers stationed at the scene to watch for flare-ups. With the exception of a minor shoulder injury, none of the firefighters were injured on the job. However, some residents fear the Friday morning blaze might have crippled the railroad trestle's best hope for preservation. Tom Turner, regional spokesperson for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the agency will review the fire reports to decide the bridge's fate. Turner said even before the blaze, the bridge's future was uncertain. "Our future plans for the bridge are undetermined," Turner said. "Of course, we'll be looking at the report from the fire department and talking with risk management in Madison ... that will probably drive the decision on how to best use it." Because of the heavy smoke emitted by the blaze, DNR wardens were sent to the scene Friday to monitor for pollutants, Turner said. "Our spills coordinators and wardens have been at the bridge and have been looking for any evidence of sheen in the water that would indicate any kind of oil-based chemicals." Although the DNR doesn't have any special plans for the bridge, Turner said other groups have proposed to work with the state to convert the retired bridge into a recreational draw. "There was an initiative to perhaps recondition the bridge as a public viewing and fishing bridge," he said. "Of course, if the bridge is damaged beyond repair, that might scuttle those plans." John Corpus, who directed the research project for Leadership of Green Bay, said the fire came as a disappointing blow to a group that has been mapping out the bridge's prospects since 1999. "We were hoping to do an observation pier there," Corpus said. "Now, depending on the extent of the damage, we'll have to decide whether to pursue it (at all) or go in a different direction." Last year, Green Bay was awarded a substantial sum of money to go toward recreational projects along the Fox River shore as part of the DNR's settlement with Georgia-Pacific, he said. "We were aware of the fact that the city received money for parks through the settlement and we were hoping to be a part of that," Corpus said. Although the fire "put a bit of a twist" in the group's plans, Corpus said he hasn't written off the trestle yet. He said the group will reserve final judgment on the project's feasibility until after it's had a chance to review the fire reports and discuss the bridge's fate with Green Bay's mayor.