Burlington Fire Marshal Mark Crooks, says investigators have not been able to determine the cause of the fire August 5th that destroyed the Tama Complex.
The complex included businesses and apartments and was nearing the end of a multi-million dollar renovation. Crooks says the insurance company Grinnel Mutual is offering up to $10,000 in a reward for information leading to the cause of the fire. Crooks says they have been able to nail down some of the basics what happened.
“We have found or we’ve located the area of the fire origin — so we know where the fire started — so now it’s a process of working through all the many possibilities of what caused the fire,” according to Crooks. The exact location of the fire and some other information is not being released because of the ongoing investigation. He says they are hoping the lure of the$10,000 reward will spur someone to offer additional information.
“We are just looking for additional information. People out there that have maybe know something about the fire, have heard some information,” Crooks says. “And we’re just frying to work through some of this to help pinpoint a better timeline of when the fire may’ve started — and that’s going to help us determine a cause.” Crooks said the witness that was rescued from the building was helpful in providing information. Anyone with and information on the fire can call Grinnell Mutual at 641-269-8265.
(By Steve Putney, KBUR, Burlington)