Owner of building destroyed in fire figuring out next steps
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The owners of the Jefferson City building that caught fire on Monday are attempting to figure out what's next for the building and site.
The Jefferson City Fire Department has been investigating the cause of the fire since it happened Monday night.
After three days of investigating, Jefferson City Division Fire Chief Jason Turner said they still do not know what caused the blaze.
"A fire can destroy a building within a couple of hours and the investigation can take several days, several weeks, and even months, we're working with everybody that's involved to try to come to a resolution of what the cause was, that's gonna take some time," Turner said.
Bernard Groner is a part-owner of the building at 1621 E. Elm Street in Jefferson City. It housed about 100 employees from both the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Office of Administration’s Information Technology Services Division (ITSD).
Groner said that rebuilding the structure could cost up to $3 million. Groner says the building was one of the first buildings he and his group owned when they started in the 70s.
"It's kind of like your first baby gone so you know its facts of life but it's not pleasant to see so you know theres a lot involved once you get to this stage," said Groner.
Groner and his group started P&G Development. His team consists of his two brothers and one of his friends that he worked with in the engineering business. They also own three other buildings in the area.
Groner said that his team is still deciding if they should start over or let everything go.
"The whole group is getting fairly old. My oldest partner is 95 and my youngest one is 76. There's two of us in our 80s so you know what do you do. Do you start up again and put another million, million and a half dollars in it or what do you do you know. That's a decision we gotta make and we haven't made it yet," Groner said.
The state says a contractor has been on site to begin recovery and disposal of state-owned equipment. They also took photos and inspected fire damage. Groner said they are deeming the building as a total loss.
Gorner said the building was insured and he has reached out to Twehous Excavating Co Inc. in Jefferson City to talk about demolishing what's left of the burned out structure.
Goner said he is still waiting to hear back from the company.
