Investigators recovered a body Sunday as they spent their first day examining the ruins at the scene of last week’s devastating apartment building fire in northwestern Lawrence.

The body was taken to the coroner’s office in Topeka to be examined and identified, said Mark Bradford, interim chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.

He said he didn’t know how long it would take to make an identification. He declined to say whether the body was that of a male or female.

Other remains also were found but it was not known if they were human remains, Bradford said.

At 8 a.m. Sunday, investigators began combing through the site in the 500 block of Fireside Drive at the Boardwalk Apartments complex, Bradford said. The first phase of the search is to find and recover any bodies that might be there, he said.

“The phase that will continue right after that will be (for) the origin and cause,” Bradford said of the fire investigation.

Investigators were assisted by dogs from a Missouri search and rescue team, Bradford said. The dogs are trained to find bodies, he said. A dog with the Kansas Fire Marshal’s office also is available to search for traces of accelerants, Bradford said.

The first body, however, was found by investigators and not a dog, Bradford said.

Three occupants of the apartment building are unaccounted for, but their identities haven’t been released by the fire department.

One of those occupants is thought to be 50-year-old Jose Gonzalez, according to his relatives. His sister, Maria Gonzalez, of Lawrence, told the Journal-World Saturday that he had not been heard from or seen since before the fire. Gonzalez family members quietly watched Sunday’s search.

Kansas University officials have said one of the missing is a KU student, but they have declined to name that student. Other news services have reported that the student is a woman from Wichita.

Assisting Lawrence fire investigators are agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and its National Response Team, comprised of agents from throughout the Midwest. Also assisting Sunday were the Lawrence Police Department and the state fire marshal’s office.

About 30 investigators were working at the site Sunday and about 40 more were following leads and conducting interviews offsite, Bradford said. He said he didn’t know how long the investigation would take.

“It’s a large site. There’s a lot to be done,” Bradford said.

The apartment fire is perhaps the largest Lawrence has seen in decades, according to historical accounts. Firefighters responded after Douglas County emergency dispatchers received several 911 calls starting at 1:19 a.m. Friday. Flames rapidly engulfed the three-story, blocklong building, forcing many occupants to jump out of second- and third-floor windows, witnesses and survivors said.

About 20 people were injured, but most were treated and released. Three with severe injuries were taken to Kansas City hospitals; there was no information on their condition Sunday.

The fire caused a reported $2.1 million in insured losses to the building.

Investigators started their search Sunday after the remains of the building were inspected and some safety measures taken.

“We did remove or knock down one wall that was somewhat in the center portion of the building that was leaning a little bit, for safety, and there were some areas that were cleaned up some,” Bradford said.

In addition to the site investigation, other investigators are continuing to conduct interviews with victims and witnesses. Some are being reinterviewed. Bradford has asked that anyone who was in the building that burned to call the fire department at 832-7600. He also asked members of the public who took photographs or videotape of the fire to call the same number.