Fire report states Plush Lounge fire in March was intentional
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A March fire that left a building in North Columbia destroyed was set intentionally, according to a report from the Columbia Fire Department.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The fire on March 22 left Plush Lounge on Business Loop in a total loss. No one was injured. The owners demolished what remained of the building last month.
The CFD report said the cause of the fire was intentional, though the item first set on fire is listed as undetermined. The area of the fire origin is listed as "storage area, other," and the report says the heat source was "heat spread from another fire."
An incident report from the Columbia Police Department states officers took a report of arson at this location on the same day and time as the fire.
The building was listed as vacant, unsecured and without any smoke detectors at the time of the fire.
Plush Lounge announced last year it was closing indefinitely after a deadly shooting in the parking lot. The owner of nearby business Wood's Auto Spa, Dimetrious Woods, said he had seen some people who he thought might have been squatting at the building, but it never concerned him until the night of the fire.
He said he got a call at 4 a.m. that day to check on his business.
"It was completely horrific not knowing if it was going to make it to my building, to my trailer," Woods said.
When firefighters arrived on the scene shortly before 4 a.m., Division Chief John Metz said in the fire report the building was fully engulfed in flames. He wrote crews were able to control the fire. No other buildings were damaged, although ventilation was added to remove moderate smoke.
Metz also reported Water and Light secured electric utilities on the scene, and it appeared gas service to the building had been shut off before the day of the fire.
CFD Spokesperson Katherine Rodriguez said 19 fire crews responded, and the fire was put out in about 45 minutes.
CFD is the lead on the investigation and working with Columbia Police to determine the cause of the fire. Rodriguez said the department cannot comment on the investigation, and there is no set time in which the investigation will be completed.
"It's such an incredible feat to knock down that fire within 45 minutes and nobody was hurt," Rodriguez said. "We can speculate all day about cause and investigations, but at the end of the day, nobody was hurt and we did our jobs, and I'm really proud of us."
Woods said he is thankful the fire was able to be contained.
"That probably says a lot about our local authorities, the fire department who is working while we're asleep, keeping us safe," Woods said.
CPD did not want to comment.
