Jacksonville fires under investigation by state fire marshal

Jacksonville firefighters and the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office are still investigating the cause of two major fires that took place this month, but have yet to identify the cause of the blazes.

Chief Matt Summers said the cause of fires at Henry's Service Center, 2244 W. Morton Ave., on Wednesday, as well as the fire at the former-McClelland Hall on June 10.

Summers said there have been some both challenges in identifying the cause of fires, however the hope is still to find the cause.

At Henry's, Summers said some video evidence has been recovered that could help with the investigation.

“Due to the efforts of the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville crews, we recovered a DVR with the video footage intact,” Summers said. “With the help of the Jacksonville Police Department, we were able to watch it was we were able to determine an area of ​​origin. It was a good save by our firefighters to recover the DVR.”

Though the initial investigation found the fire started in the repair shop of the building, Summers said the video showed the fire started on the east wall.

“We are not sure if it was electrical or something along that wall,” Summers said. “It's a good possibility that it was something in or on the wall on the east side. We may not be able to figure it out because of the intensity of the fire there is a lot of ash and debris.”

While that investigation is ongoing, Summers said the one into the fire at Cured Catering at the former Mclelland Hall is also still under investigation.

The investigation into that fire has faced some difficulty, Summers said because of the dangerous situations that an investigator would face to enter certain spaces within the building.

Summers said the building materials are extremely heavy and the size of the structure has made the investigation difficult. Heavy equipment would be needed to help decrease the dangers of the situation and Summers said that is an expense that may not be covered by insurance.

“It is dangerous to get someone up into the space and it’s been difficult to access some spaces,” Summers said.

Despite the challenges, Summers said the investigation is ongoing and they hope to be able to find a cause.