TOLEDO, Ohio — Willys Pool in west Toledo had to be shut down for the remainder of the season Wednesday after someone allegedly sprayed a fire extinguisher into the water.
Fire extinguishers contain chemicals that when combined with chlorine can form a highly combustible compound nitrogen trichloride, which could potentially cause an explosion, the city of Toledo said.
The city has labeled the incident as just the most recent example of intentional vandalism at city parks, added to a list of recent issues which includes stolen picnic tables, stolen basketball rims, stolen golf carts and damaged tennis courts. The estimated total impact of the vandalism is expected to be over $100,000, Toledo City Council member Theresa Morris said.
According to Morris, the vandalism has happened at six city parks: Asbury Park, Clover Lane Park, Pickford Park, Willys Park, Joe E. Brown Park and Edgar Holmes Park.
Donna Krzeminski, who lives near Asbury Park, said she has seen the issues firsthand.
"The new bench that they put in over there, the kids went and painted it pink and apparently the city came in and painted it green. Sometimes they destroy the swings," Krzeminski said.
Morris said shared spaces like city parks are for kids and families, and shouldn't be torn apart.
While TPD says they will continue patrolling the parks, Morris said the community can help by keeping a watchful eye.
"We're asking the public to help us," Morris said. "We can't be everywhere, but if you see something, you need to call the police. if you see something that's not quite the way it should be, take a picture. We need everyone's help in protecting our parks."
While most of the broken or stolen items can be easily priced out, the cost to fix Willys Pool is still unknown, Morris said.
While the water is normally kept in the pool all year round, because of the chemicals that were put in the pool, it will now need to be drained for the first time ever. That is estimated to cost thousands of dollars.