UPDATE, 11 a.m. | A spokesman with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said investigators believe Tuesday's massive blaze in North Kansas City was started by careless smoking.
John Ham said someone didn’t put out their cigarette after smoking on a patio attached to the building. The wind fed the fire and pushed it into the building.
He said the preliminary investigation shows the fire was an accident and the agency will not pursue criminal charges against the smoker.
In Jan. 1997, “Carlitos”, a Mexican restaurant caught fire and destroyed a row of business across the street Tuesday's fire.
Lessons from that five-alarm fire were put into action in yesterday's three-alarm blaze.
From the @41actionnews archives: pic.twitter.com/pZPMzVD95c
— Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) May 9, 2018
The timing of the fire helped investigators determine the cause so quickly.
“It's a busy time of day out here. The buildings are all occupied. There's a lot of street traffic. So we had a lot a video to look at and a lot of witness statements. We were able to really quickly, by looking at those videos, point us in the right direction,” Ham said.
North Kansas City Fire Chief Dave Hargis reminded smokers to properly put out their cigarettes when they’re finished.
The structure has been declared a dangerous building by the North Kansas City building official. It has been secured and the demolition process is expected to begin over the next several days.
—
EARLIER | NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday morning firefighters continued to extinguish hot spots after a fire tore through the Pioneer Building Offices, collapsing the building's roof on Tuesday afternoon.
Fire Chief Dave Hargis said the fire started at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on the corner of Swift Street and Armour Road. The exact cause of the fire is unknown.
North Kansas City spokesperson Kim Nakahodo said the city requested investigators from the ATF help the fire department determine the cause of the fire. Nakahodo said the federal agency has more resources than the city.
Investigators can’t enter the building until the hot spots are out.
Firefighters are now spraying water directly into a second story window in effort to reach hot spots on what's left of the burned building at Armour and Swift in downtown @cityofnkc pic.twitter.com/2qtQK2BF5u
— Charlie Keegan (@CharlieKeegan41) May 9, 2018
Hargis previously said the fire began on a patio or deck of the building. ATF spokesperson John Ham said his team will work to confirm that.
ATF investigators interviewed several witnesses Tuesday and collected cellphone and surveillance footage to help them focus their investigation.
City crews will spend the morning reconnecting gas lines and other utilities to the buildings south and west of the Pioneer Offices.
The city said NT Realty owns the building and rents it to 13 tenants, including Galls uniform store.
NT Realty is working with the city to relocate the 13 businesses to temporary offices. NT owns several other properties in North Kansas City.
ATF has scheduled interviews with representatives from each business that rented a space at Pioneer Offices.
No one was hurt in the three-alarm fire.
Fire investigators, including at least one from ATF, are now at the scene of the fire on Armour Rd in North Kansas City. They're taking pictures of the outside of the building pic.twitter.com/sSrvBSaoKX
— Charlie Keegan (@CharlieKeegan41) May 9, 2018
—
