March 28, 2024

Federal investigators go inside burned building

DES MOINES (AP) — Federal investigators have gotten their first look inside a downtown Des Moines building gutted by fire over the weekend.

The Des Moines Register reported investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were in the building’s west side on Tuesday.

That section of the building was not as badly damaged as the east portion, where flames consumed entire floors.

ATF spokesman John Hamm says investigators are looking for spots that might have burned hotter than others and indications of how the fire burned and what might have caused it.

The 115-year-old Younkers building was in the midst of a $36 million housing project renovation when it was consumed by fire early Saturday. It had been vacant since 2005.