GREG TUTTLE
Courtesy The Billings Gazette
A team of federal agents today will begin sifting through the debris of an almost-completed three-story hotel that was destroyed by fire early Monday.
Agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms National Response Team will help local fire and police investigators find out what caused the blaze at 4 a.m. Monday that razed the Country Inn & Suites hotel under construction at 231 Main St.
Fire officials said Monday it was too early to say if arson is to blame for the fire, which caused between $1 million and $2 million in damage.
"We're not calling the fire anything at this point because it's just way too early," said Assistant Billings Fire Chief Paul Gerber.
Gerber said at least one element of the fire raises suspicion: the blaze spread so rapidly that by the time firefighters arrived, the third floor of the building was already gone.
"The fire was at a very advanced stage" when the first crews arrived, said Battalion Chief Tim Bergstrom, who oversaw the 17 firefighters in four engine companies and a ladder company that fought the fire.
The building is owned by Wayne and Pam Ask, who announced last year plans to tear down the Player's Club casino they operated for 12 years and to build the hotel. Plans initially called for the 67-room hotel to open June 1, in time to catch some business from the American Bowling Congress national tournament being held at MetraPark.
The $4 million hotel was to be part of the Carlson Hospitality World chain, which also operates the Radison Hotel chain out of headquarters in Minneapolis.
Wayne Ask also announced plans last June to expand two other businesses he owns next door to the hotel; Bottles & Shots and Club Casino. Ask declined to comment Monday.
Fire officials said the building was insured. No injuries were reported.
The hotel was to include a conference room, workout room and swimming pool. All that was left standing Monday were several large metal support beams and an area of cinder block.
The foundation for the new hotel was poured last October, and the roof had recently been added.
Billings Fire Marshal Frank Odermann said the department started receiving 911 calls at about 4:20 a.m. Firefighters said they could see the flames and smoke rising from the fire when they pulled out of Station No. 1 on Eighth Avenue North.
Flames shot high into the air, and heat from the burning building warped a large plastic sign on the New Beginnings Indoor Auto business nearby and melted a portable outhouse.
Bergstrom said a large power pole to the south of the building was burning when fire crews arrived, threatening to send four high-voltage lines to the ground across Main Street. The fire was extinguished before the pole collapsed.
A grass fire to the west of the building also had ignited and was quickly put out before it could spread to nearby homes and businesses, Bergstrom said.
Fire officials said there was nothing they could do but spray water on the burning building to keep the flames from spreading.
"It was absolutely a defensive fire, which means we surround and drown and protect adjacent structures," Gerber said.
Jim Steinmetz said he was awakened shortly after 4 a.m. by what sounded like a hard rain hitting his home on Skyline Drive. The sound turned out to be the crack and pop of flames half a mile away, he said.
"I looked out and it was like the sun was coming up, it was so bright," he said. "It was just totally lit up. The whole thing, left to right, and 100 feet in the air, was totally engulfed."
It took less than an hour for fire crews to extinguish the blaze. Bergstrom said crews were intent on putting it out before winds spread the flames.
An ATF-trained dog from the Montana fire marshal's office was brought to the scene Monday, but investigators could do little more than plan their next move as piles of debris continued to smolder throughout the day. Flames were reported flaring up again at the site at 7 p.m.
This is believed to be the first time the ATF National Response Team has been sent to Billings. The team of fire investigation specialists was formed in 1978, and they are sent to help local authorities investigate "significant arson or explosive incidents," according to the agency's Web site.
The team also helps investigate large, suspicious commercial fires or deadly fires. Its members are among those who investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., said agency spokesman Mike Campbell.
The team of 10 to 15 members from regional ATF offices in the Midwest includes agents with expertise in fire causes, forensic chemists and auditors, Campbell said. The ATF has four such teams that can respond to emergencies anywhere in the country within 24 hours, he said.
The ATF agents were expected to arrive Monday night and are scheduled to meet this morning with local fire and police investigators.
"The team is there to work with the local authorities to get to the origins of the fire," Campbell said.
