The Albuquerque Fire Department has announced what sparked a huge fire at a business complex downtown last Wednesday. Investigators say the fire started with a rooftop air conditioner on the south end of the building and quickly spread by the high winds that night, causing about $10 million in damage.
As the fire continues to smolder six days later, firefighters remain at the complex making sure it doesn’t flare up again. The Albuquerque Fire Department calls it the biggest fire in recent memory.
“The tar caught on fire and was dripping tar balls, dripped from the roof into the occupancy,” said Albuquerque Fire Department Chief James Breen.
As numerous fires started inside the building, the greatest damage was inside TMM Business Records Storage. The business had high racks full of medical records which quickly caught fire. What didn’t burn is wet and weighing down the storage racks. Firefighters are worried the racks will collapse, so they still can’t go inside.
“It’s not safe to put firefighters on the inside. As a result of that, we can’t actually access some of the smoldering material that’s deep inside the structure,” Breen said. He says the Albuquerque Fire Department called in federal agents to find out where the fire began and what sparked it.
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