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| Aldermen Still Have Questions About EconoInn Fire |
What turned out to be one of our top local stories of 2009 ended up coming up at this week's Galesburg City Council meeting.
Fire crews were called to the EconoInn motel just off Henderson Street in the middle part of last June, all but completely destroying the facility, and also claiming the life of 47-year old Jeffrey Shaw, who was found inside a burned-out hotel room.
Now-retired Galesburg Fire Chief John Cratty told WGIL in June the fire is believed to have started in Shaw's room, and spread because of a wooden roof on the structure.
"The fire did progress either through the second floor or even lapping up from the door or the window of that unit," Cratty said. "(It) up and got into that wooden roof structure and then went probably three-quarters the length of the building."
Aldermen this week asked about the progress either getting that building torn down, or rebuilt. Galesburg Community Development Director Roy Parkin says a rebuild is still possible.
"There had been some discussions between the property owner, their insurance, and some architects or engineers...about whether or not they could try to save the walls of the building," Parkin said.
Parkin says he doesn't think that will be possible, and the motel's owners either have gotten a contractor, or are trying to get one, so they can move forward. Aldermen, however, are generally frustrated with the lack of speed with which the process is going, and one suggested even crafting an ordinance to try and get things sped up.
(Fire destroyed the Galesburg EconoInn in June of 2009.)
(A body is pulled from the scene of the fire at the EconoInn. WGIL News Story and File Photos by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 01 07 10 by Newsroom |
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