Fire officials on Wednesday were looking into the possibility that an early-morning fire that destroyed the third floor and attic of a vacant Kansas University fraternity was arson.
Fire damage was confined to the top two levels of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house, but smoke and water damage extended throughout the structure, said Rich Barr, fire marshal at Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.
Fire investigators aren't ruling out arson as the cause of a fire at the vacant Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house. Looking for clues behind the blaze Wednesday is Lawrence firefighter Jim Wilson.
Fire investigators aren't ruling out arson as the cause of a fire at the vacant Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house. Looking for clues behind the blaze Wednesday is Lawrence firefighter Jim Wilson.
Investigators were attempting to locate people who may have witnessed any activity near the fraternity, 1941 Stewart Ave., before the fire broke out shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, Barr said.
No one was injured in the fire. The fraternity had been vacant since June 1, when members were forced to leave because a city-mandated sprinkler system hadn't been installed.
The Lawrence City Commission in 1993 ordered Phi Kappa Theta and a handful of other Greek living organizations to comply with the ordinance, said Angie Carr, coordinator for Greek programs at KU.
Damage to the 6,000-square-foot structure was estimated on Wednesday around $300,000. Firefighters remained at the scene for more than four hours.
The fire apparently started on the third floor, Barr said. Electrical causes had been ruled out, he said, because power to the building had been cut when residents moved out.
Barr said he understood that the building wasn't insured.
Phi Kappa Theta president Chris Vetter said that most property had been removed from the fraternity soon after residents vacated. All that remained were an unknown number of composite pictures, collections of past years' residents, plus a few assorted items of furniture, he said.
Vetter learned of the fire early Wednesday when someone from Alpha Gamma Delta, a sorority house next door to the fire scene, called him at his home.
"I'm still in shock," he said. "We're still trying to figure out what to do next."
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