photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Fire gutted the back portion of the BKB Leather repair shop in North Lawrence, pictured on Aug. 8, 2023.

The fire that destroyed BKB Leather in North Lawrence early Monday morning was an accident caused by a heat gun, investigators with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical said Thursday in a news release.

The fire at the longtime Lawrence business at 815 Elm St. was “due to an electrical event involving a heat gun in the structure,” the release said.

Thirty firefighters responded to the scene shortly before 2:30 a.m. Monday, the release said, and initial reports indicated that a person had gone back inside the burning structure. Firefighters encountered “significant fire and high heat levels inside the business which slowed progress in controlling the fire,” the release said. The fire was reported as knocked down within an hour, and the incident was placed in an “under control” status within two hours.

Two patients were evaluated by LDCFM paramedics but were not taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported, the release said.

The owners of BKB, Bruce and Kris Barlow, told the Journal-World Tuesday that they intended to rebuild the shop. A GoFundMe account with a $50,000 goal has been created for that effort. The account had raised $6,700 by Thursday morning.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Bruce and Kris Barlow are pictured in front of what’s left of the BKB Leather repair shop at 815 Elm St. in North Lawrence on Aug. 8, 2023. The shop was badly damaged by fire the previous day.