Fire in Manhattan Destroys New Apartments

As the new buildings rose on 4th Street and Leavenworth, one could enjoy watching the various types of Construction Workers doing their thing. Being obsessed with Darcy's Run for the past week, i missed the news of the fire when it first occured. Returning the PA system to Glenn's Music this morning, i was startled to find myself in front of the smoldering, destroyed structures.

There is a good story in the collegian HERE and this pic:

It was sad to think of all that work wasted. there is a press conference right now at fire department re: what the investigation knows at this point.

here are some shots i took this morning (Monday):

Exceprt from the collegian story:

"... At approximately 2:50 a.m. the smoke alarm went off in Dick's Sporting Goods and the cacophony of the alarm filled the air along with the dull roar of flames, the shouts of firefighters and police issuing orders and the murmurs and gasps of onlookers who gathered in the parking lot behind the Manhattan Mercury.

Multiple Manhattan Fire Department trucks were on scene and firefighters worked to contain the blaze, but it was already too late. The nearly completed four-story apartment building on the corner of 4th Street and Leavenworth Street was beyond saving. Firefighters concentrated their efforts on protecting the buildings nearby from the embers being carried by the strong, southwest winds.

Jim Blanck, battalion chief of the fire department, said the roof of Dick's Sporting Goods caught fire from the embers, but firefighters were able to contain that fire before it grew. Dick's sustained some smoke and water damage, but the amount was unknown. The apartment buildings along 4th Street between Osage Street and Bluemont Avenue also sustained smoke damage and the occupants were evacuated, Blanck said. Sparks flew as far as Longhorn's Steakhouse.
Witnesses as far away as Walmart reported seeing debris from the fire floating in the wind. Witnesses in Aggieville reported the blaze was so large, it looked as though it were a house fire in Aggieville instead of a dozen blocks away..."