Team of ATF specialists are investigating massive fire at Evansville warehouse

Jon Webb, Evansville Courier & Press
·3 min read

EVANSVILLE – Around 20 specialists with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team are investigating the large fire that leveled a historic Evansville warehouse Monday morning.

ATF spokeswoman Suzanne Dabkowski said the team arrived Tuesday morning and began their investigation at 119 N. Morton Ave. Wednesday morning.

The team responds to large-scale fire events across the country and includes agents who are specially trained, even beyond the normal ATF training, to find the origin and cause of a fire. They aim to root out the presence of accelerants or explosions on scene, if there are any.

Evansville fire aftermath:Day after massive warehouse fire, city still dealing with smoke in the air, embers in yards

But their presence here doesn't necessarily mean they believe the fire is suspicious in nature, she said. And the Evansville Fire Department will still lead the investigation.

In a tweet later Monday, the ATF estimated the cost of the damage at more than $5 million.

"It more has to do with the scale of the event and the fact that our partners have asked to come assist," she said. "There’s nothing that inherently, just by them showing up, means there’s something suspicious about it.”

Since the National Response Team formed in 1978, it has aided in nearly 900 investigations, including the Sept. 11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Debris from a fire that started Monday morning and destroyed the warehouse at 119 N. Morton Ave in Evansville, Ind., Tuesday morning, Oct. 18, 2022. The fire leveled a system of buildings that stretched across four parcels, hundreds of thousands of square feet, and had stood, in some capacity, for more than a century. No one was injured.
Debris from a fire that started Monday morning and destroyed the warehouse at 119 N. Morton Ave in Evansville, Ind., Tuesday morning, Oct. 18, 2022. The fire leveled a system of buildings that stretched across four parcels, hundreds of thousands of square feet, and had stood, in some capacity, for more than a century. No one was injured.

The fire, which was first reported at 4:38 a.m. Monday according to Evansville Central Dispatch records, destroyed the warehouse, which stretched across multiple parcels and took up hundreds of thousands of square feet. It had stood, in some capacity, for more than 100 years and was the former site of Hercules Buggy Works and Servel, the latter of which churned out both refrigerators and wings for P-47 Thunderbolts during World War II.

No one was injured in the blaze, but it did cause damage to four other buildings and displace dozens in the area, including more than 100 people either living or working at the Volunteers of America’s Hope Hall nearby.

No cause has been determined. Due to smaller, lingering fires, investigators couldn't even access the site until Wednesday.

In an email to media Wednesday morning, EFD spokesman Mike Larson said he would provide another update at the site Wednesday evening, but he didn't "expect to have any new information."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville warehouse fire investigated by team of ATF specialists