Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying anyone involved in starting a fire Sunday inside a Durango office complex.
The fire was reported at 5:16 p.m. in a building that houses a couple of dentist offices, a piano teacher’s office and Anna’s Alterations, a clothing alteration shop at 2323 West Second Ave.
The blaze started in an outdoor breezeway where a snowblower is chained to a wall outside Anna’s Alterations, said Lt. Ray Shupe, spokesman with the Durango Police Department.
“They’re investigating it as a possible arson at this point,” Shupe said.
The fire was reported by people passing by who saw smoke, said Steve Harris, fire investigator with Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
It is too early to say for sure whether the fire was intentionally started, he said. There was no obvious ignition source, he said, and snowblowers don’t typically spontaneously combust.
“All I have is a concrete breezeway with ice melt and a snowblower that has been sitting there for four months.”
Anna’s Alterations received fire damage, and dentist offices received smoke and water damage.
The fire department arrived within 6 minutes of receiving the call.
“We certainly saved more than we lost,” Harris said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Durango police Investigator Burke Baldwin at 375-4734 or Crime Stoppers at 247-1112.
shane@durangoherald.com
