Cause of North Broadway fire accidental, investigator says

A fire that caused $300,000 in damage in north Wichita on Feb. 12 has been determined to be accidental, according to a Wichita Fire Department official.

In an e-mail, Capt. Kelly Zane of the department’s fire investigations unit said the blaze at a vacant commercial building at 2056 N. Broadway was caused by electrical arcing in the building’s attic.

Zane said that electrical arcing was identified in a conduit that ran on the south side of one of the building’s cinder block walls.

“Even though the structure had been vacant for 10 years, the building still had active electrical service to it,” Zane said.

Multiple units and more than 50 firefighters from the department were called to the two-alarm fire after it broke out during the evening of Feb. 12.

In addition to the structural damage, Zane had said previously that the blaze caused about $5,000 in building content damage.

Signs on the building indicated it had been used as a Boost Mobile location, a nail salon and a “cash-for-gold” store. A restaurant also once operated in the building.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office assisted with the investigation, Zane said.

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Cause of North Broadway fire accidental, investigator says."