photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Liberty Hall was taped off Saturday morning, Aug. 10, 2024, after a small fire broke out in the basement.

A fire that broke out earlier this month at Liberty Hall in downtown Lawrence has been deemed an accident — the result of a mechanical failure in a filtration unit in the historic building’s basement.

According to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, the 110-volt motor for a “smoke eater air filtration unit” failed and led to the small fire that filled the building with smoke and briefly necessitated the evacuation of nearby buildings and the temporary closure of the 600 block of Massachusetts Street on the morning of Aug. 10.

A “smoke eater” is a filtration device designed to remove various impurities from the air.

As the Journal-World reported, the fire was discovered when an employee of Liberty Hall came to work, opened the door and saw smoke. Capt. Brandon Holloman with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical said at the time that the flames were contained to the basement but that “a little smoke damage” had affected other parts of the large building.