Inquiry into fire will take weeks

-By Adrienne Hoenig, The Daily Reporter-Herald

Investigators still have no leads on what sparked a four-alarm blaze Monday in southeast Loveland.
The fire ripped through the center of the six-unit B building at 546 S.E. Eighth St.

Units B3 and B4, which housed a fish-supply warehouse, were destroyed. The other four units suffered smoke and water damage but are not a total loss.

Fire Division Chief Tim Haag said even though firefighters finished their investigation Wednesday, it still will be a few weeks before information is available.

“This will be an ongoing investigation for a period of time; it will be a while before we have an answer,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve ruled anything out.”

Haag said the evidence from the investigation will be turned over to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office for testing. Burn patterns — where the fire burned the hottest and the longest — and potential heat sources will be scrutinized as the case is examined.The building’s power was to be switched back on late Wednesday.

Lisa Deulen, office manager at MLS Air Conditioning in unit B6, was packing up paperwork Wednesday afternoon to empty out the unit so the company could have it cleaned.

There was water on the floor, and the ceilings were dark gray from smoke. She said the company had recently remodeled and refurnished the mezzanine — which suffered extensive damage.

“Our upstairs is pretty much destroyed because they had to cut through the walls to help put the fire out,” Deulen said. “It’s trashed. We have to start over.”

Deulen said she’s hoping to see the business reopen by the end of the week. Employees still have to determine whether the air conditioning units stored inside are salvageable.

CoCat, a Denver-based restoration company, will help clean out the four less seriously damaged units and replace the building’s roof, which suffered extensive heat and fire damage.

General Manager Cory Braesch said he plans to be there for at least a few more weeks.
“You have to touch every square inch of the walls, everything, to clean it,” he said.