Mike Wolanin | The Republic A pedestrian walks past caution tape, barricades and fencing that are blocking off the fire damaged Irwin Block building in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.
Local and state investigators have said that the cause of a fire that destroyed a treasured historical building in downtown Columbus has been ruled “undetermined.”
The fire, which broke out late Dec. 3, ravaged a commercial building on the 400 block of Fifth Street that has been known for generations of Columbus residents as the “Irwin Block” building, resulting in a large portion of the building’s third story façade collapsing onto the sidewalk and street.
The building is believed to be at risk of collapse and Columbus firefighters have said that it is likely the building will need to be demolished. City officials condemned the building last week, but no demolition permits for the property had been filed with Bartholomew County Code Enforcement as of Friday morning, officials said.
Investigators combed through rubble and interviewed the occupants of the offices in the building for nearly two weeks but were unable to uncover enough evidence to determine a specific cause, officials said.
“With the amount of damage and lack of any clear indications of a cause, currently, the official cause at this point is listed as undetermined cause,” said Columbus Fire Department spokesman Capt. Mike Wilson. “…Undetermined cause simply means that there was not enough physical evidence or any evidence obtained from witnesses that would indicate an otherwise cause of the fire.”
Wilson said the cause classification could change if more evidence surfaces or witnesses come forward and provide additional information, but “once the demolition process would begin, the ability to gather additional information and assess for causes is certainly going to be hampered from that process, as anything would be displaced and destroyed.”
Due to the structural compromise of the building and further collapse hazards, investigators were limited in extending the investigation of the building past the point of origin. “The fire will remain undetermined due to the fact that the building is too unsafe to conduct further investigation as is outlined under the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards,” said Columbus Fire Department Investigator Troy Todd.
The “undetermined” cause classification is one of four classifications used by fire investigators. The undetermined classification is used for a fire incident that lacks physical evidence or accounts of factors that led to a fire.
Wilson said that investigators determined that the origin of the fire was on the ground floor in what he described as a “block building” that was added on to the rear of the building after the original was completed in the late 19th century.
The newer structure “butted up to” 422 and 440 Fifth St. and was attached to the original Irwin Block building, Wilson said.
Investigators “believe that the origin was in that area of the building” and then spread, Wilson said. A passerby had discovered flames in the building and called 911, officials said previously. A Columbus police officer who was first on the scene when the fire was reported took a photo of the area in flames which provided additional evidence for investigators.
When firefighters arrived, they found a well-involved fire at the rear the building, and a portion of a single-story structure at that location collapsed.
Last week, local officials confirmed that the building did not have a sprinkler system but was not required to have one due to the age of the building, how it was being used, its occupancy, square footage, among other criteria. The building is likely around 129 years old, said Bartholomew County Historian Tami Stone Iorio.
“It would have predated the requirement for a fire sprinkler system,” Columbus Fire Inspector Troy Todd said in an earlier interview.
Over the years, the Irwin Block building has lived many lives, with a variety of tenants occupying the building, including doctor’s offices, flower shops, beauty salons, funeral homes and a furniture store, officials said.
At one point, Weber Supply Company operated on the first floor of the building. The company ran numerous ads in The Republic, offering a wide range of items, including table and floor model radios, TV consoles, radio phonographs, basketballs, ironing boards, among other things.
Officials said that the building dates back to the “original era of downtown growth” in Columbus.
Records filed with the National Park Service’s Register of Historic Places described the Irwin Block building as a “Queen Anne masterpiece” and possibly the “best example of Queen Anne commercial (architecture) in Indiana.”
The Queen Anne style of architecture was popular in the United States from 1880 to 1910 and was characterized by “playful use of different building materials,” according to the National Park Service. The records state that the Irwin Block building was a brick building with a six-bay façade, four oriel towers with a slate shingle roof and belt coursing.
The Dec. 3 fire, however, was not the first fire to impact the Irwin Block building. In 1928, a fire “gutted the upper part of the east side” of the building and left it roofless, according to The Republic’s coverage at the time.
The 1928 fire started on the third floor of the building, which was unoccupied at the time, and “was confined to the upper part of the building and to the east side.” The fire chief at the time said, “the fire resulted from defective wiring in a closet on the third floor.”
Fire investigators over the past couple weeks looked for signs of an electrical cause for the Dec. 3 fire, but there was “no clear indication that electric was the cause,” Wilson said.
