The investigation of the fire that destroyed a historic downtown building in Mitchell Friday has been turned over to the building's owner and the insurance companies.
The Mitchell Police and Fire Division on Tuesday finished its investigation of the fire, which destroyed a building that housed two businesses and damaged three others, said Chief of Public Safety Lyndon Overweg. The fire has been ruled as non-suspicious.
The building did not have automated extinguishing system or a fire alarm system.
"The cause of the fire is unknown at this time," said Overweg. "There is a chance that it may never be known."
The fire started around 7:30 p.m. Friday and continued through the weekend. The building, located at 201 N. Main St., was razed Sunday. It is owned by Bob Nyreen of Alcester.
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The fire destroyed Janitor's Express and Tri-State Janitorial, two businesses that were located in the structure. Nearby, other businesses also received damage.
Dr. Lucky's remains closed as its owners assess the damage. There is no word on when the bar will reopen. Geyermans Clothing Co. reopened Tuesday.
Merchandise Outlet Store also was damaged. Manager Kim Cross said it's too soon to tell when he will reopen.
"We have no idea what we will do until the insurance gets taken care of," Cross said.
Meanwhile, an interesting possible side effect occurred over the weekend. According to Friday and Saturday's press logs from the Mitchell Public Safety Department, three non-injury accidents were reported near the fire scene.
Major events like the weekend fire increase the amount of traffic in a particular area, Overweg said, as people strain to witness a historic event. Friday's fire was no different. Long lines of vehicles circled the area Friday evening, for instance, and police officers and other emergency personnel were stationed at several corners to help ease congested traffic.
Around 8:55 p.m. Friday, a man was arrested for allegedly drinking and driving after getting into a hit-and-run accident in the 200 block of West Second Avenue.
Early Saturday morning, another accident occurred in the 200 block of West First Avenue.
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And shortly after noon Saturday, officers responded to a three-vehicle accident at the intersection of Second Avenue and Rowley Street. Again, no injuries were reported.
All of the incidents were within two blocks of the fire site, although none can be directly -- or officially -- linked to the increase in traffic in the area.
Overweg said dealing with traffic always is a part of major events like Friday's fire. However, despite the three accidents, the traffic did not cause any unusual problems for emergency personnel.
"The advantage that we had is that we blocked the streets from the city Public Safety Building to the area of the fire," said Overweg.
That allowed emergency vehicles to move freely in the closed area.
