ATF: Grandview Commons fire caused up to $5M in damages

The massive fire that destroyed a Far East Side apartment building under construction and sent up a cloud of smoke that could be seen across Madison on Friday caused between $3.5 million and $5 million in damages, authorities said Monday.

City, state and federal investigators are now trying to find out how the blaze started, and on Monday asked the public to send in photos of the fire in its early stages, hoping they could provide some clues.

About two dozen agents and specialists from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team have been brought in to investigate the fire.

The four-story building, under construction on the 500 block of Apollo Way, was the site of a planned 105-unit apartment building in the Grandview Commons subdivision. No one was hurt in the blaze.

An official with FMI Development, the company building the apartments, said in a statement that the company would work with authorities in the investigation.

We look forward to rebuilding in the near future, said Dan Schmidt, a managing member of the company.

The blaze began around 7:30 p.m. Friday, radiating intense heat throughout the neighborhood as firefighters quickly took a defensive approach to containing it.

Smoke was visible Friday evening from Downtown across Lake Monona, and ash and debris scattered over several miles.

On Monday, rippled vinyl siding on houses that faced the former construction site were a testament to the heat the fire generated. Much of the building had been leveled, leaving little but an elevator shaft and a partially charred section standing.

Madison fire and police officials, along with the State Fire Marshalls Office, requested the ATFs help with the investigation, authorities said.

Follow this link:
ATF: Grandview Commons fire caused up to $5M in damages