Investigators face slow process after 16th St. fire - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

A team of local and federal fire investigators is on the scene near downtown Indianapolis where a fire tore through a construction project on 16th Street and Broadway Friday night.

Heavy equipment, handheld shovels and a team of Indianapolis and federal fire investigators are going about the delicate work of finding where and how the fire started. The unfinished apartment building is in ruins.

Although officials say there are no obvious signs of arson, residents of the public housing complex are worried.

"I'm really waiting for them to figure out what is going on because it is kinda scary staying here," said Shemekia Brabson, resident.

The building erupted in flames Friday night. A firefighter described the wooden structure as burning like a wall of matches. Fearing the windswept fire would jump to neighboring buildings and homes, residents were evacuated.

In a fire this intense, there is a concern among investigators that the flames themselves destroyed evidence as to how the fire started. Clues that survived are likely hidden beneath a heap of ashes.

"Me and you, the non-professionals, don't see anything but rubbish. They can go through that rubbish and find little signs that lead them to the cause of the fire," said Lt. Larry Tracy, Indianapolis Fire Department.

The fire is a setback for the 11-building public housing complex. It is the Indianapolis Housing Agency's biggest ongoing construction project. The $34 million effort aims to provide affordable housing for low and moderate income families needing a safer, nicer place to live.

"We are hopeful and it is our full intent to move 16 Park forward. It is too important of a project not so see happen to the City of Indianapolis," said Justin Ohlemiller, IHA spokesman.

It's expected to take days for investigators at the scene to get to the bottom of what went wrong.

Meantime, the IHA says it's working with investigators and their insurance company to get the project back online. It was meant to open later this year.