Recovery ‘slow and messy’ after Jefferson City business destroyed in fire

Winn Harrison, the owner of C & W Harrison Co., a roofing/guttering company, said he will retire after a fire destroyed his business.

Insurance agents notified Harrison Tuesday he could begin taking inventory of items he lost in the fire.

"You can see it’s a total loss," Harrison said. "It's a mess."

The Missouri State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire that happened on Dec. 19. Insurance agents also investigated and determined the fire started in the attic.

LIVE PLAYBACK of the fire can be viewed in the player below.

ABC 17 News obtained the Jefferson City incident report from the fire. View the full report here.

The report did not rule on the cause of the fire, but said two factors going into fire suppression were the open attic without any division and the delayed detection of the fire.

"There's not a lot left here," Harrison said. "Firefighters didn't have much choice. We didn't leave them much to work with besides a big fire we couldn't get to because it was up in the attic."

According to the report, when Harrison got to the scene, there was confusion about the crews' response.

"Initially, the owner did not understand why the fire department was in defensive operations and voiced his concerns," the report said. "Mr. Harrison advised there was at least one motorcycle worth over $100,000, several other expensive motorcycle and motorcycle parts inside the building in addition to significant amounts of work-related tools."

Harrison said he now has nothing but praise for the Jefferson City Fire Department.

“They couldn’t do anything except dump water on it," Harrison said. "They did all they could. And they wore themselves out. All of them did.”