No cause found for fire in building on KU’s Edwards Campus

Overland Park fire investigators are unable to determine a specific cause of a May 19 fire that damaged part of the roof of a building under construction at Kansas University’s Edwards Campus.

“None of the suspected causes can be supported without question,” Jason Rhodes, an Overland Park Fire Department spokesman, said Tuesday. “Investigators do, however, have the ability to investigate further should additional developments arise.”

The roof of the Business, Engineering, Science and Technology building caught fire early that morning, and Overland Park fire crews had the blaze under control in 45 minutes. No injuries were reported.

The new $25 million BEST building consists of 75,000 square feet of space devoted to classrooms, a business conference center and labs and offices.

Bob Clark, vice chancellor and dean of the Edwards Campus, said Tuesday that the fire mainly damaged material on the exterior of the roof. Crews have already replaced that, and the inside of the building was spared from damage.

The building is now scheduled to be ready for occupancy in January. Rough winter conditions, not the fire, have delayed construction from the original October completion deadline, Clark said.