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April 03,
2008
Fire’s cause will never be known
City hopes to
preserve building’s façade
BY
BRIAN L. HUCHEL
Commercial-News
Some ideas were
ruled out, but the actual cause
of last week’s downtown fire
will never be officially known.
Investigators from the city’s
fire and police departments have
finished their examination of
the scene of the March 26
morning blaze that consumed a
downtown building near the
intersection of North Vermilion
and North streets.
Fire Deputy Director Bobby
Lillard said an engineer brought
in by the building owner’s
insurance company visited the
site Tuesday, ruling out an
electrical cause to the fire
following an inspection.
With that possibility
eliminated, Lillard said the
cause of the fire is officially
listed as undetermined.
“There’s going to be a lot of
times where you may have an
idea, but unless you’re
absolutely sure, you can’t say.”
Investigators were able to
determine the location where the
fire started, pointing to the
back door of the Danville
Bookworld, 109 N. Vermilion St.
That is consistent with original
reports of the blaze that said
the rear of the building was
aflame.
Lillard said the location was
determined by interviews with
witnesses and by checking the
charring left on debris at the
scene.
“It’s a scientific effort and
scientific process that relies
on sight and smell,” he said.
A dog was even brought in to
sniff for possible chemicals
that could have started the
blaze. Lillard said the dog was
attracted to the smell of a
chemical, but it was ruled out
as a possible ignition for the
fire.
Only a shell of the building in
the 100 block of North Vermilion
Street was still standing this
week as cleaning crews worked in
the area. A façade torn off the
front of the building gave a
clear view inside.
The fire, called in at about
10:15 a.m. March 26, spread from
the bookstore to the neighboring
Briars and Brambles, engulfing
both businesses. Firefighters
were able to contain the flames
from reaching the Dale building
to the south and William
Burnside building to the north.
Bruce Huff, owner of Bruce Huff
Photography next door to Briars
and Brambles, was working with
Newton’s Cleaning Service today
to prepare his studio to
re-open. It’s a daunting task he
said he’s never quite
encountered before.
“I initially thought that we’d
be able to steam clean and do
some other tricks that have to
do with the smoke,” he said. “I
never thought I would be
removing the ceiling tiles and
the carpet.”
He added the smoke smell really
permeates everything.
Huff said he is not sure when he
will return to his studio, with
a time frame that runs from a
couple of weeks to later in May.
But there’s no question where he
will work again.
“I will definitely be back in
here in this same spot,” Huff
said. “I like this spot, and I
believe in the downtown. I want
to be here.”
This is the second building in
downtown Danville claimed by
fire in two years. Fire consumed
Chittick’s Family Eye Care’s
building on Aug. 26, 2006,
leaving a vacant lot where the
business once stood at 159 N.
Vermilion St.
Fires engulfed blocks of
downtown buildings in Sidell in
2007 and Rossville in 2004.
Looks can be deceiving in the
eyes of Downtown Danville Inc.
executive director Rachael
Dietkus, who is working to see
if part of the building can be
saved.
She said the building has been
in the family of the owner,
Tenley Lippie, for at least four
if not five generations.
In addition, Dietkus said a
great deal of historical glass
was located in the original
façade of the building, just
above the awning. The
4-by-4-inch tiles included
teardrop designs that date back
to the late 1800s or early 1900s
in connection with the work of
architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
“Most people would drive by and
see a burned building,” Dietkus
said. “What we see is a loss of
two great businesses, for one.
And also, hopefully, being able
to preserve some history and
historical aspects of it.”
She is working with the Illinois
Historical Preservation Agency
and the National Trust for
Historical Preservation to
coordinate a structural expert
to inspect the building.
“I think one of the missions and
goals as part of the Main Street
program is try to save a
building by any means possible,”
Dietkus said.
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