Investigators meet on Tama fire
The meeting was conducted at the
"We are running two separate investigations," he said. "By that I mean the state fire marshal's office, the fire department and police department are conducting one investigation and the insurance investigators are conducting their own inquiry.
"Although they are parallel investigations, we share information with each other like we did today (Thursday)."
Trexel said investigators have conducted interviews with several people this week, including the woman rescued from a third-floor window the night of the fire. Repeating an earlier statement, Trexel said the woman was authorized to be in the building at the time of the fire. However, he wouldn't say if investigators have determined what she was doing inside the building at
"At this point, we've conducted numerous interviews," he said. "And everyone, including the woman who was rescued, has cooperated with us. ... We don't have anyone we consider a suspect at this point because we really don't know how the fire started."
Trexel said investigators have not ruled out any scenario that could have trigger they blaze, including whether it was accidental or intentionally set.
"We are making progress. We are discovering things, at least from the fire department's perspective, that surprised us," he said, declining to reveal what specifically surprised them.
He also said because of the massive destruction of the two buildings, he has wondered if the cause of the blaze would ever be solved.
"When I left (the scene) Sunday with all the rubble around I didn't know if we would ever be able to determine the exact cause," Trexel said. "But after talking with the investigators from the state fire marshal office, I think there is a strong likelihood we are going to be able figure out the cause of the fire."
In addition to comparing information with each other Thursday, the group also watched videos of the fire taken from police body cameras and dashboard videos, along with videos they have received from the public and from social media.
Investigators also want to know why the buildings had sprinkler systems installed but the sprinklers didn't work properly.
According to Battalion Chief
Workman said he doesn't believe it is a code violation the sprinkler system wasn't working because the building had not been approved for occupancy.
Trexel said the parallel investigations will continue with several more interviews to be conducted in the next few days.
According to Trexel, there were at least 13 subcontractors and their employees working on the complex. He said those people all have to be interviewed because most of them had access to the buildings.
He again reiterated the investigation is in its infant stages and that it is too early to begin speculating on what caused the fire.
Trexel also said investigators still have not determined the amount of damages caused by the blaze. However, he did say the owners of the building told them it was insured for
At the time of the blaze, work was nearing completion on a
"We are scheduled to meet again at
Trexel said he expects additional information about the fire will be released following that meeting.
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