Officials investigate Edmond’s largest fire

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October 20, 2009

Mark Schlachtenhaufen The Edmond Sun Tue Oct 20, 2009, 10:56 PM CDT

EDMOND — A federal fire official is assisting Edmond Fire officials in their investigation of what is believed to be the largest structure fire in city history.

Tuesday afternoon Edmond Fire crews were still working to put out hot spots in the charred remains of the Enclave at Covell Village, 1201 Covell Village Drive. Continuing brisk south winds blew smoke away from the site as curious onlookers came and went.

Assistant Fire Chief Tim Wheeler said a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent was en route to assist the Edmond Fire Department with resources due to the size of the fire. Wheeler said Fire Department personnel believe it is the largest structure fire in city history.

The 168,000-square-foot, four-story condo-like building was valued at an estimated $10 million, Wheeler said. No one has been injured and the investigation into what sparked the blaze is in its preliminary stages, Wheeler said. A number of witnesses have been interviewed, he said.

The 152-unit complex was being built on 15 acres by SC Bodner Company, and it was scheduled to be open sometime this winter, according to information posted at www.scbodner.com. The company did not have a media spokesperson available for comment Tuesday.

Edmond received assistance from both the Deer Creek Fire Department and the Oklahoma City Fire Department.

During the operation, copious amounts of water were sprayed onto the burning structure. City spokeswoman Claudia Deakins said there were no water supply problems anywhere in the city while crews were fighting the fire.

“We have not had reports of any water pressure concerns either,” Deakins said. “We had operators at the water plant all night monitoring the water system, but they do that on a normal basis because water is a 24-hour operation.”

Information on the total amount of gallons used was not immediately available.

Joe Medley, manager of the Lowe’s at 2401 N. Kelly Ave., said the Oklahoma City Fire Department asked store personnel to move propane tanks from an outside storage area. A field separated the store from the apartment building, and winds carrying embers were blowing near the rear of the Lowe’s building.

Medley said he was on the way home Monday when he received a call about the fire. He saw the plume of smoke, but knew what was burning thanks to e-mailed photos. Both the Edmond and Oklahoma City departments did an excellent job fighting the fire, he said.

The fire had little affect on Cheyenne Middle School students as they came to school on Tuesday. The school is across the street, north of where the apartments were located, near the Covell Road-Kelly Avenue intersection.

“The air conditioners were turned off Monday and the outside vents were closed in the school,” said Brenda Lyons, associate superintendent of secondary education, “and deodorizer was used throughout the school.”

Traffic was rerouted Tuesday morning as parents and buses dropped students off for school.

“The west parking lot was still smoky,” Lyons said, “so we had everyone drop children off and teachers park on the north side of the building.”

Children with asthma or breathing problems were allowed to check out early.

“We had about 45 children check out of school early today,” Lyons said. “We didn’t want anyone staying who was affected in the least bit by the smoke.”

Medley said an interesting aspect of the incident were the spectators coming and going.

REPORTER PATTY MILLER contributed to this report.

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Officials investigate Edmond’s largest fire

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