Tuesday’s fire at a downtown South Bend apartment construction site came almost three months to the day after a fire burned the historic Lafayette Building just a few blocks to the north. The investigation into the first fire’s cause seems to have stalled.
From Tuesday’s fire, South Bend Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Stephens on Wednesday said the department’s investigators spent the day collecting evidence and reviewing camera footage from surrounding buildings. She said a state fire investigator is helping but it remains a South Bend Fire Department investigation.
Stephens says they need the developer to remove a large crane so they can safely search the debris for clues. An accelerant-detection K9 will examine the debris, potentially helping investigators identify specific areas where samples should be collected for further testing.
She noted, “It's still far too early to determine whether anything about the fire is suspicious.”
She also said they’ve still received no word from the state fire marshal on a cause of a June 8 fire that burned the Lafayette Building.
State fire marshal spokeswoman Liz Woods has declined WVPE’s interview requests. In emails, both in June and on Wednesday, Woods said, “the fire is under investigation and we have nothing to release at this time.”
