Investigators seeking juveniles in connection with Dollar General fire that may have been arson

Fire investigators are looking for three juveniles who may have started the fire that heavily damaged the Dollar General store on Pawnee near Meridian on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire caused an estimated $400,000 in damage and sent two firefighters to the hospital, Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said. One was treated for dehydration and the other for injuries sustained when debris fell on him while fighting the blaze at 2427 W. Pawnee.

“There was quite a bit of debris that was falling down,” Crisp said. “Visibility was very poor.”

Both firefighters were released after treatment. More than 70 firefighters were sent to the fire, which was reported just after 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Employees at Sonic just east of the Dollar General noticed the fire near the front door and alerted people inside, Crisp said.

“We are going after some leads,” he said.

Investigators have been told three juveniles were in the store a short time before the fire and were asked to leave because of a disturbance inside, Crisp said. They reportedly returned to the store a short time later and “were seen running from the area of the fire’s origin,” he said.

Investigators may release images of the juveniles if they’re not found by Thursday, Crisp said.

Buddy, the accelerant detection dog, did not find evidence of any ignitable liquids at the fire scene, Crisp said. Cardboard boxes and other combustibles stored outside the building next to some propane tanks could have been used to start a fire.

“There are security cameras all over that block,” Crisp said.

The Wichita Police Department will review videos collected as evidence. Investigators hope to identify suspects in the incident, Crisp said. Authorities are not far enough along in the investigation to release age estimates or physical descriptions of the suspects.

The fire was fueled in part by propane that pressure valves released as the tanks heated up, Crisp said. The pressure valves did what they’re supposed to do, he said, because that increasing pressure could cause the tanks to rupture.

Firefighters were able to keep the tanks cool enough to prevent them from exploding.

Residents working in businesses on the north side of Pawnee reported hearing numerous pops in the early stages of the fire. Those sounds were likely a combination of the pressure valves on the propane tank releasing, glass windows breaking because of the heat and small aerosol cans exploding in the fire, Crisp said.

Any suspects arrested in the case could face aggravated arson charges because there were several people inside the building at the time the fire was started near the entrance, Crisp said. The fact that firefighters were hurt while fighting the fire could add to the severity of the case, he added.

The Dollar General fire was one of three large commercial building fires crews had to battle on a hot, humid day. Sparks from a grinding operation ignited dust in the rafters of a Love Box Co. warehouse on 37th Street North on Tuesday morning, causing an estimated $250,000 damage.

A couple of hours after the Dollar General fire, sparks sucked into a dust collection system at LMI Aerospace on West Esthner ignited a fire. That blaze caused about $150,000 damage to the building and its contents.

“It was one of those days,” Crisp said. “It’s pretty unique to have three significant commercial fires on the same day.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Investigators seeking juveniles in connection with Dollar General fire that may have been arson."