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Show Depot fire wa set jovestigaftors say "We want to save it. We don't want to see it demolished." John Sevier by Nan Chalat Traces of a flammable liquid have been found on the charred floorboards of the Union Pacific Depot which sustained heavy damage during a fire Sunday morning. "It is now being treated as arson and the investigation has been turned over to the Park City Police Department," said Park City Fire Chief Jim Berry. The fire was reported at 1:21 a.m. by police officers Lew Berry and Leo Witt who were on a routine patrol of the area. .The first engine arrived on the scene at 1:24 a.m., Berry said. "It looked suspicious to us right from the start, especially because of the intensity of the fire. The whole south end was engulfed," said Berry. But with the help of 25 firemen and three pumpers the fire was brought under control within 45 minutes, he said. "We used the department's new Mack Telesquirt to protect the Coal and Lumber building and we moved two cars which were parked in the alley beside the building," Berry said, adding the cars incurred approximately $3,000 in damage from the fire. "It was a little tricky because the power line came down in the alley." Rex Fletcher, who lives at 702 Park Ave. just west of the Depot, was taking photographs of the fire when he saw Park City police officer Al Allen and another officer get ready to move the vehicles. The heat had already caused a tire to blow on each car, and steam was rising from the painted surface. "Those guys were taking a risk there." They managed to get the cars started and drove them north down the alley away from the fire. "When they got down the road a ways they were still steaming," Fletcher said. The scene made him think back to July 1981 when another nearby landmark, the Silver King Coalition Building, went up in flames. The radiant heat from that fire caused a vehicle to explode in flames. "I would have had pictures of the Coalition fire but I was too busy trying to save our house," he said. "I was out with garden hose spraying her down." Rex's parents, Mel and Peggy Fletcher, passed the Depot about 1 a.m. Sunday on their way home. "They were just walking down from a dance party at the Elks Club," Rex said. "There was no fire then." The Fletchers were unaware of the fire until Mel's paging device (he's a volunteer firefighter) went offaboutl:25a.m. The blaze attracted a crowd of about 50 people. Rex said he stayed on the scene until about 3:15 a.m. "They had it totally under control by then, but it was still burning in spots." Most heavily damaged was the southwest corner of the building. The northern wing, on the other hand, was virtually untouched except for some water damage. That wing was being used as a storage area by the Park City Art Festival. The 99-year-old building, currently owned by Randy Fields of Park City, was due to pass into the hands of a new owner on May 1. John R. Sevier III of Landmark Lane, Ltd., a Los Angeles investment company, had announced his intention to purchase the Depot and . to restore it as a restaurant and nightclub. Sevier is now offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the arsonist and said he plans to go ahead with negotiations on the purchase of the property. "We still want to continue with the original plans but I think we need to renegotiate. The restoration cost is a high figure now but I'm still willing to take Hon." According to Fields, the closing date has been delayed to May 15 because of the fire. But he added, "I don't think it will change the terms in regard to price or anything else." Sevier heard about the fire minutes after it started from Will Nolan, a contractor with Huddleston Construction, which is currently working for Sevier to restore the Imperial Hotel on upper Main Street. "I was walking down Park Avenue above the parking lot behind the Claimjumper when I heard a couple of kids say that the building next to the Coal and Lumber was on fire," Nolan said. "I looked up, saw the smoke and realized it was the Depot." Nolan said he ran down Main Street to the telephone in front of the Kimball Art Center to call Sevier. "He said he'd be right down." Sevier said he arrived on the scene at 1:36 a.m., leading one of the fire trucks. "I felt sick and angry. I just wanted them to put it out as soon as possible," Sevier said. Since the fire, Sevier has had a chance to assess the damages with a structural engineer and architect John Carbine. "We walked through the building Tuesday morning with chief building official Ron Ivie. We have already discussed a plan for bracing the building and making it safe," Sevier said. He added that 24-hour 24-hour security has been placed on the premises as long as the police department's investigation continues. If the, building cannot be kept " Secure, the city will issue a demotion?' order, Sevier said. "But we want to save it. We don't want to see it demolished. The Union Pacific Depot was built in 1886 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Lieutenant Lloyd Evans of the Park City Police Department said as of Tuesday no suspects were being held in connection with the fire. ' "We are looking for a motive. Right now we would like to talk to anybody who saw anything at all," Evans said. According to Evans, arson of an uninhabited structure in which there are no personal injuries is a third degree felony punishable by one to five years in jail and up to $5,000. He said that arson is a growing crime across the country and that typically arsonists fall into three categories. They include those who have something to gain financially from the fire, those who get their thrills from setting fires or those who have a grudge against the property owner. |
