THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE THAT BURNED SEVERAL businesses in downtown Durango, Colorado, on February 22 has been determined.
[photopress:durango_b_access_sue_kuhn_1.jpg,full,centered]
Durango Access / Kuhn photo
The Durango Fire and Rescue Authority announced yesterday that faulty ductwork at Seasons Rotisserie and Grill was the cause of the fire spreading into the common attic of the three buildings that were destroyed.
The Durango Herald is reporting:
Tom Kaufman, DFRA fire marshal, said the fire started in Seasons in the hood over the wood-fired grill and deep-fryer area. Flames then moved into duct work that was improperly installed. Although the fire-suppression system in the hood activated, it was unable to stop or hold the fire, Kaufman said.
Kaufman’s investigation found that while the duct work did not violate the fire code, it was installed in violation of the city’s 1991 Uniform Mechanical Code. The duct was installed 6 inches from combustible paneling, but the code prescribes 18 inches of clearance. The paneling in the concealed wall and attic space ignited from either radiant heat from the duct, a hole in the duct or both.
Once the fire started in Seasons’ attic, it spread quickly to the neighboring Half-Price Tees building because there was no separation between the attics of the two buildings. The lack of a separating wall was not a code violation because no codes were in effect at the time the buildings were constructed in the late 1890s, according to the investigation.
The fire was widely reported at the time and gained closer attention from the Fire & Rescue community because of several firefighters being injured when an explosion in the neighboring restaurant, Le Rendezvous Swiss Bakery and Café, blew them off of the roof.
[photopress:durango_a_herald_1.jpg,full,centered]
Kaufman said a separate investigation is being conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, which will cover the cause of the explosion that destroyed the neighboring building that housed Le Rendezvous. He said because NIOSH will conduct laboratory and scale model test re-creations of the explosion, the results of the NIOSH investigation aren’t expected for six to nine months.
The video of that blast can be viewed on Firegeezer’s posting on the fire HERE.
Recent Comments