CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Investigators with the Charleston Fire department say the fire alarm system at the Regal Apartment building was not working when they arrived on the scene to battle a massive fire on Wednesday.
Captain David Hodges told reporters Friday afternoon that firefighters heard no alarms and saw no flashing lights when they arrived on the four-story building on Kanawha Boulevard.
“When our crews entered the building they did not hear an audible alarm or see any flashing strobes from the alarm. Our crews did try to manually pull pull stations but did so with no prevail,” Hodges said.
Hodges said the alarm system was working Monday, two days before the fire, when the fire department was dispatched there on an alarm call.
“We actually ran a fire alarm in that building and that was received through the (Metro) 911 center that there was a fire alarm and the system was working on the 23rd,” Hodges said.
Meanwhile, the department has officially ruled the cause of the blaze as “undetermined.” Hodges said there was just too much damage from what he described as a “fuel fire.”
He said it appears the blaze began in an area of the building near the attic. He said once the flames got into the rubberized roofing, which has a petroleum base, the fire continued to fuel itself.
Hodges said the official cause will remain as “undetermined” unless new, significant information surfaces.
“It will be undetermined unless someone would come forward with some amazing information,” Hodges said.
The Regal, constructed in 1930, was demolished within hours of the fire. Hodges said a detailed investigation, which included interviews, scene analysis, and privately owned video surveillance was conducted by investigators.
There were no injures in the fire. There were 35 occupied units. It’s believed about 50 people lived there.
A September call
The Charleston Fire Department received a complaint last fall that the alarm system wasn’t working, Hodges said.
“Our investigators went out and reviewed that and determined that was true. It was an electrical issue. There was a disruption in the service there, so they were able to correct that that afternoon and the fire alarm service was restored,” Hodges said.
Regal residents told both firefighters and reporters arriving on the scene Wednesday, including reporters with MetroNews, that they heard no alarms to alert them of the fire. Hodges said Friday there were more than a half dozen calls reporting the fire to Kanawha County Metro 911 but all came from passersby or those outside the building.
Hodges said had the fire been 3 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. the result of no injuries could have been much different.
“It there would have been a 12-hour difference, at nighttime, it holds much more potential of being tragic,” Hodges said.
The building is owned by Patriots Services Group.