The structure fire that occurred at 801 Moro Street early Thursday morning has been ruled incendiary by fire investigators.
Investigators from the Manhattan Fire Department, the Riley County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal conducted the origin and cause investigation.
Officials are now investigating this fire as arson. It was determined that there was a high probability that it was set intentionally by an unknown subject(s).
Officers continue to investigate and ask that anyone with information on these crimes contact the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers by phone at 785-539-7777 or online at www.ManhattanRileyCountyCrimeStoppers.com.
Community members choosing to assist law enforcement through the Crime Stoppers service can remain anonymous and could qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.
These investigations are currently ongoing. No further information has been released.
Please contact Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes, Manhattan Fire Department, at 785-587-4504 with any questions.
Updated 11 a.m. Thursday:
More information has been released regarding a fire at 8th and Moro early this (Thursday) morning.
The Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to the intersection of 8th and Moro streets for a report of a structure fire. Upon arrival, crews found a three-story apartment building under construction at 801 Moro Street with fire showing from multiple floors. The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within approximately one hour. At the height of the fire, 6 fire apparatus and 19 firefighters responded with units still on scene at the time of the release. The 800 block of Moro Street is still closed.
The building was an approximately 8,000-square-foot, three-story apartment building under construction. When finished, the building would contain 6 apartments with 17 bedrooms with an estimated value of more than $1 million. The owner is listed as Fieldhouse Development Inc., and RF Benchmark Construction is the general contractor, both of Manhattan, Kansas.
Investigators from the Manhattan Fire Department, the Riley County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) will be conducting a joint fire investigation. The fire cause is under investigation at this time.
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(earlier report)
Manhattan Firefighters were on the scene of a structure fire early Thursday morning. The fire was at 801 Moro owned by Fieldhouse Development, with a three story apartment complex under construction.
According to Assistant Fire Chief Sam Dameron firefighters were called to the scene at 4:55 a.m., with fire on the third floor and getting into the roof. Dameron adds while they are getting the fire under control, there are a
few hot spots (as of 5:40 a.m.).
There were no injuries and it’s too early to tell what the cause might be.
The intersection of 8th and Moro and the 800 block of Moro are closed to traffic at this time.
