 Good morning everybody. My name is Greg Pixley. I'm the spokesperson for the Denver fire department And I'm here to give you an update on the fire that occurred on March 7th at 1833 Emerson Give you a little background on everything that we know and then lead you up to the point that we are right now As we know the fire occurred on March 7th and the building was under construction at the time This was a building that had a Concrete base with four wood floors above it at the time of the fire there were 61 construction workers that were working on the site at the this building was supposed to have 85 Residential apartment units that were on top of the parking garage and that first floor concrete area was also supposed to have Occupancy that was going to allow for businesses to be utilized at the same time Now the building being under construction had drywall installed it had OSB and plywood that sectioned off the areas as the building was being Built it also had metal stairwell framing and railings for the stairs that were not completed But actually had temporary tread so that the workers could move about within the building it also included Stairwells in addition to ladders that allowed for accessibility throughout the building The building was also wrapped with Tyvek, which gives it a degree of protection from weather and from water and from Air just so that it makes it better to be able to last in the long term Now about 1209 that the superintendent was notified that there was smoke extending from the southeast corridor Now the he ran into the building and he was going to investigate the fire and about the third floor he noticed that there was Significant amount of smoke traveling down the stairwell, and he also experienced Some flames the heat was significant enough that it drove him back, and he started the evacuation of the building As the workers evacuated the building Many returned to assist other workers that were trying to remove themselves now as we became aware two of the workers actually removed themselves from a Building on the back side or a window on the back side of the building one of which fell and became injured upon our arrival the Fire incident commander Requested a second alarm assignment at seeing the significant amount of flame that was building at the time there were a Need for us not only to extinguish the fire But also to assist victims that were removing themselves in addition to assisting those that were injured We also had numerous bystanders that were assisting and trying to help those workers as they were Pulling themselves and removing themselves from the building There were several Patients that were hurt and four of which we know were transferred to local hospitals To Denver fire investigators arrived on scene not long after the fire They met Denver police officers, and they started to pull the the construction workers into their respective groups to get some initial reports We had DPD detectives that also arrived on scene and Not long after we were able to keep these groups together Get some initial reports with the assistance of additional fire investigators And it was at that time that we determined that there were two construction workers that were still Unaccounted for that was mr. Roberto Flores Prieto and mr. Dustin Peterson as the fire grew it spread rapidly through this open construction and the radiant heat affected Seven other buildings in addition to the damaging 45 other cars that were in the area After we completed extinguishment it was our goal to determine the location of the two individuals that were missing We utilized canines from Colorado Task Force one to assist in that effort Later that evening we were able to locate one individual He was located on the southern side of the building The second day our fire investigators again focused on locating the second individual That individual was located about 12 feet from the first These people were located on the southern side of the building on the third day our fire investigators Focused on the area of origin It was our effort to remove those four layers of floors that had collapsed on the third floor piece by piece Focusing on the charred remains that of the building and the construction that were there so that we could focus and Locate the area of origin Investigators examine the area to determine where the debris came from floor by floor The fire was originally reported By witness accounts to have occurred on the third floor in the southeast portion of the building We were able to Determine that not only from the reports, but also from videos and pictures that were provided to the investigators It was also confirmed by the examination of the fire debris as they went through this very thorough process Now to date the investigation has and has included approximately 40 Dfd tip line Calls that we were able to focus on over 200 interviews and Evaluated at least 500 digital pictures that we took on the fire scene And that's not to mention the multiple videos that we received from cell phone cameras and bystanders The follow-up investigations Included the interviews from the representatives of building the construction superintendents The various trades which were actively working on the project that day Every construction worker was also interviewed Information from these interviews and the evidence on scene ruled out the fire was caused by framers by the welders The plumbers the drywall workers the insulation workers and the electrician The investigation also ruled out as a cause the temporary electrical power provided by electrical cords and power units That were within the building assisting the construction workers as they were performing their work Now the reason that the fire spread so quickly is because of the open nature that is created when you have a Building under construction and the amount of wood that was available to be affected by the fire in addition to the wood frame construction without any active fire stops and Although some possible causes of the fire have been ruled out We are going to list this as undetermined at this time and because of the ongoing interviews and investigation This case will remain open and under investigation But we're asking the community to assist with additional tips that would help lead us to a cause of this fire The DFT tip line is seven two zero three three seven two eight two eight Now answer your questions But I also asked that you respect the fact that we are still working an ongoing Investigation as we work to make a determination of what the cause of this deadly fire was Our priority is to preserve the integrity of the investigation and to respect the lives of those that were lost and Those that were impacted by the fire Yes, Rick Well, what we're doing is focusing on what we know and we have to do that There's a national standard an NFPA standard 921 that focuses everything to a preponderance of evidence So we can't speculate on what the fire could be until we have refutable evidence that could Allow for us to make that determination of what the cause of the fire is So I wouldn't care to speculate because there's so many different types of opera or so many different types of causes It could be and for us to focus on one right now wouldn't be relevant to the investigation We were hearing reports of witnesses on scene Every bit of evidence that was collected on scene is being evaluated and any type of information Of those construction workers that was provided is being analyzed by our fire investigators so again in to respect the purpose of the investigation in It would it wouldn't be Relevant for me to speak on some of the specifics of the fire I would say though if there's any invest if there's any information out there by bystanders or those workers That has not been provided to our fire investigators It's important for them to know that every little piece could allow for us to make a determination of what caused that fire So if they were not interviewed if they did had additional information We would love to hear from them and by calling the tip line that will help us out Again, it would wouldn't be prudent for me to speak on in terms of what the evidence is that our fire investigators have Collected because this is still an active and open investigation Yes, sir No, that's a great question Now our our fire investigators have a great track record when it comes to The arrest they make and the convictions in fact is close to about a hundred percent from that point What they will do is they will focus on the evidence that they've already collected They will look at the interviews that they've had reanalyzing the pictures and Using what we call is a peer review to make sure we haven't missed anything But there's also going to be ongoing interviews and we're going to continue to analyze the evidence that we have and if We can call upon the bystanders the citizens and the workers of that facility to provide any Information the smallest piece that could help us make a determination of what this fire is That's we're going to do is ask for a call of action from those people that were affected by this fire that might have that glimpse It could help us solve this fire Yes, sir, I do not serve But I could I'll work with you if you reach out to me afterwards and I'll see what I can provide Yes You know, I don't have that answer, but I'll reach out to my fire investigators and I'll find out Sure, I can read them over for you if you give me a second And I you should have we should have provided you that information in fact, I'll just because it's listed out there. Yes, Rick Have Our fire investigators are very diligent and they're very focused they're very disciplined and they would have investigated any type of Relationship between that but again as it's an ongoing investigation. I wouldn't be able to make any any Clear conclusion of to what their efforts have been at this point But any any information that's provided to them that they would find relevant would be Portion of the investigation that they would utilize to help determine the cause not only of the Emerson fire But if any other fire that might be related to that No, what I said Rick was that those trades had been worked out not all of the workers To this point we were able to rule out the electrical equipment that was available on scene the electrical lines and the Power generation units within the facility. We also ruled out. Well In the basement it was a nice day that day in the basement were some heating units that were not being used And they were not a part of this as well Clearly the significance of this fire was Tremendous in terms of what our fire investigators had to focus on again We had four floors that collapsed on top of one another and our fire investigators had to Use a degree of investigation methods where they would remove each piece One at a time working to determine where that portion of that building material came for and then to Focus on the evidence that might be related to what the cause of the fire was so this is a very disciplined very thorough and a very specific process and so In terms of your question. Yes, this was significant This was not the normal house fire that we would have to go through where it might have been a fact caused by a kitchen or a Stove or maybe somebody that had left a pot on the stove or smoking or something like that This was well involved. So our our fire investigators again are looking at all that data all of those all Anything that they think could be relevant to make a determination of what this cause is and again any information from Anybody that was affected by this fire that has not been provided would be relevant to the course of the investigation And again the DfD tip line is 7 2 0 3 3 7 2 8 2 8 Not at all in fact our fire investigators are dedicated to solving the fires that occur in the city and county of Denver and we will continue and redouble our efforts to ensure that we can Not have missed anything We want to check everything to make sure that we can continue to focus on the investigation to make sure we're analyzing the Information as appropriate sending out anything that we might have that has not been Looked at yet and any other investigations that might lead to additional clues that could give us the ultimate cause of this fire Well, that's a very complex question because there's so many variables But I could get you some specific information afterwards as I look at it. I didn't I don't have anything like that with me Our fire investigators are also looking into that the cause of that fire as well And as you could imagine within the course of just a couple of weeks. We had two very significant fires and in My recent history. We've only had three Three three alarm fires the the last one was in Glendale prior to that in 2013 With the Emerson fire and with the Grove fire So our firefighters are trying or our fire investigators are trying to work through all that information and then to When we have a relevant update, we will provide it and we'll have some similar press conference How about one more question No, it's interesting though that or ironic really that they just Removed a lot of the that Remaining portion of the building that had been damaged by that fire I think it was just a couple days ago and I'm not aware of it right now But I'm sure that there's a number of processes that have to go through with the insurance companies and with the That so I couldn't answer your question. I could only speculate and I don't care to Any other questions for me? Anytime we have a fire we're trying to learn from that and The traits that were affected by this as well are going to focus on those Anything that they can glean from this, but it's important for people to understand that by utilizing the proper Permitting processes and that we have found to have occurred in this environment that Things are going to be as safe as possible But if there's something that we can make a determination and save lives in the future That's that's an ultimate goal of not only the Denver fire department, but fire departments across the United States And again if I would ask that we Call everybody that's affected by this fire anybody that has any information anybody that might have just one little spec of Thought that came to them weeks after the fire It could be relevant to our fire investigators and we ask Those people to provide that information to our fire investigators so that we can look at Everything have the best and most comprehensive information so that we can get to the bottom of what actually caused this very very Significant and deadly fire. I thank you for your time and again You all know how to get a hold to me if you have any follow-up questions. Thank you