Investigation of Kerr fire on hold: fire chief
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily
The complexity of the fire investigation on the origin of the Kerr Apartment Building fire has forced the fire department to suspend their operation until the building undergoes demolition, says the Nelson Fire Rescue chief.
Simon Grypma said fire and police investigators temporarily suspended the physical investigation of the Kerr Apartment fire.
“It’s on hold as a result of the amount of debris located over the likely point of origin of the fire,” said Grypma in a press release. “This fire investigation is extremely complex due to the nature of the fire … and the cause of the fire was reported to be suspicious and remains so at this time.”
According to initial investigations, three storey building collapsed into the basement where it appears the fire originated.
“The investigation of the fire will resume when arrangements are made with the building insurance agents to begin the demolition of the building,” Grypma added.
Until now has focused on exterior evidence at the site of the fire, coupled with eye witness reports of the events leading up to the fire. Questioning of tenants of the building and persons of interest will continue while the physical investigation is on hold.
Grypma was optimistic the investigation would give the tenants “some closure” on their loss, as well as giving the fire department some insight into how to prevent further tragedies from occurring.
Personal property retrieved
Salvageable items of personal property were retrieved and returned from 11 suites of the Kerr Apartment Building Thursday.
The remaining 27 suites were completely destroyed by the fire.
Nelson Fire and Rescue Services personnel, along with the Emergency Operations Centre, coordinated the retrieval and return of personal property items from some of the suites that sustained smoke and water damage, but only minimal structural damage, said fire chief Simon Grypma.
“Firefighters volunteered their personal time to escort the tenants into the rooms,” he said in a release. “The salvageable items were limited to jewelry, photographs and material that could be decontaminated.”
Prior to entry into the building, tenants were instructed by firefighters the building hazards associated with the fire, including structural weaknesses and contamination of objects from smoke exposure.
In all, the former tenants were in the building approximately two hours.
“Most tenants were able to retrieve some personal property,” chief Grypma said.
editor@thenelsondaily.com
