Downtown Fire: Investigators begin work

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A dozen investigators responded to the scene of the downtown fire Thursday afternoon. But they’re going to have to wait for crews to get it completely put out before they can really go to work. The investigators come from metro police and the Indianapolis Fire Department.

They plan to interview anyone who may have seen or heard anything that could be related to the fire.

"They'll start with the owners, they'll start with workers, they'll start with witnesses, they'll try to see if they can come up with anything that maybe somebody saw, somebody heard. I'm sure there are a billion different stories about what people think they know or saw or whatever about the fire. Hopefully, they'll be able to come to some conclusion, but it will take a while," said Captain Rita Reith of the Indianapolis Fire Department.

A federal agency called the U.S. Fire Administration tracks construction site fires. It says the number one cause of those fires is arson, followed by open flame fires, such as trash fires -- and then smoking.

Investigators are far from being able to say what caused the Cosmopolitan to burn. But amazingly, even from piles of debris and ashes, experts said they can determine a lot.

"There are ways to measure the charring on, say, two-by-four studs that the home's constructed from. By the depth of char, you can tell how long the heat has been there," said former fire investigator Gerry Inks.

Investigators said those clues, and others, can help them figure out just where and how a fire started.