Fire investigators: Massive downtown blaze ruled ‘undetermined’

A massive fire that destroyed a historic building in Downtown El Paso has been ruled as “undetermined.”

El Paso Fire Department fire investigators, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives today announced their findings on the fire that destroyed the site of the old First National Bank Building at 100 East San Antonio Street.

The building, which also once housed the Law Offices of John Wesley Hardin, went up in flames on April 19

Investigators said the amount of destruction caused by the fire and building collapse made it “impossible” to determine a cause.

They said that even though the cause of fire has been ruled undetermined the case will remain open. If a cause is determined at a later date, the Fire Department will pursue any possible criminal prosecution for arson, which has a 10 year statute of limitation.

“The amount of damage caused by the fire and the building collapse along with the amount of evidence collected made this investigation difficult and lengthy,” Fire Marshal Calvin Shanks said.

Anyone with information on the fire is still urged to call the Fire Marshal’s Office’s Fire Prevention Division at (915) 485-5699.