No investigation into Tuesday's downtown fire planned

The thick scent of sulfur hung in the air, as a lone construction worker hauled charred remains into a big yellow excavator Thursday afternoon.\nA pile of blackened debris is all that's left of the the long abandoned building at 119 S. Walnut St., which formerly housed the Lung Cheung Chinese restaurant.\nA fire gutted it Tuesday, causing its second floor and roof to collapse.\nOn the scene until 3 p.m. Wednesday battling spot fires, firefighters called in a demolition crew in the interest of public safety. The building, fire prevention officer Steve Cottingham said, was too unstable after the ravages of the blaze.\n"After a fire like this," he said, "the walls are literally ready to fall, with all the glass shattering into the street."\nThe cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.\n"The kitchen area is on the lower level, six or so feet below grade," Cottingham said. "It's almost like a basement. With the intense heat and smoke, we didn't feel it was safe going down."\nWhile a limited physical exam couldn't confirm the exact cause, fire officials believe it was an electrical fire originating in the kitchen. The building's gas had long been shut off, but it still had electricity.\n"It might just have been some frayed wiring," Cottingham said. "But from interviews we've learned that a few individuals had turned on appliances in the kitchen that afternoon."\nKen Nunn, who owns the building and the adjoining law office, told firefighters and police that he had dropped in Tuesday to pick up some wine bottles.\nNo investigation is planned.\n"We haven't even been contacted by the fire department," said Bloomington Police Department Captain Joe Qualters. "We're not going to be looking into this."\nA pedestrian noticed smoke at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, but couldn't pinpoint its origin. By the time the fire department arrived on the scene at 7:30 p.m., the thick gray billows almost completely obscured the Monroe County Public Library, a few blocks away.\nTwo crews were immediately dispatched into the building. After the ceiling began to give way, they pulled out and took an aerial approach, pumping water from their trucks. \n"I don't think the public fully appreciates the danger level involved," Cottingham said.\nBy midnight, the firefighters managed to wrangle the blaze under control. It raged on for so long, Cottingham said, because of the number of combustibles in the building.\nAlso, he said, the building's old masonry kept the heat trapped inside, weakening its structure. Before the wrecking ball took to it, the west wall was bowed and the facade cracked in several places.\nSwitching off on 12-man shifts, the firefighters attended to minor flare-ups for 19 straight hours. Though Nunn's office, 123 S. Walnut St., has a double firewall, they were concerned that it might spread in the crowded downtown area, less than a block off Kirkwood Avenue.\n"I want to express my deepest gratitude for a job well done to the firefighters who responded to the downtown fire," Mayor John Fernandez said in a statement. "Although the fire caused a complete loss, the professionalism of these dedicated firefighters ensured the fire did not spread further and that no one was injured"