GARY: ARSON WORLD (PART 6)
THE GREAT GARY ARSON OF 1997: Final Word
Mayor Scott King stated in a write-up in the Gary Post-Tribune, February 5, 1998:
“…Sometimes the old must make way for the new. Such has been the case with our downtown area. The “Fire of 1997,” which destroyed a majority of the east side of the 600 block of Broadway as well as other key structures, was momentous in that it eliminated physical buildings and city history, all in one fell swoop. The most notable in this category was the destruction of Memorial Auditorium. The old City Church at 6th and Adams was also severely fire damaged. While we have lost historic buildings, buildings that may have held special memories for many of us, the fire has also provided new opportunities for economic growth downtown. What could not even be imagined because of the presence of closely situated buildings is now a possibility. “
I mentioned in the last write-up that most buildings that burned were already on the city’s demolition list. Every building on the 600 block of Broadway was to be razed in November 1997. The fires sped up this process. The decision to demolish the entire east side of the 600 block of Broadway was made that August. Owners of property on the block were to show how they would bring affected buildings up to code or opt for demolition. At least the Goldblatt’s building was owned by the City of Gary and would have been razed regardless. Bids were supposed to be opened October 29th. The fires occurred 17 days before that date. Fencing was to be installed around that section, however this was not done. A good thing too — would have been just another challenge for firefighters to overcome.
The former Wabash/N&W right-of-way near Old Hobart Road was in the process of being deconstructed by Congress Enterprises. A large amount of sand from the right-of-way was transported downtown and used to fill in the holes that once held the foundations of buildings such as Goldblatt’s, Radigan Brothers Furniture and other structures. Demolition work, which included dynamiting what was left of Goldblatt’s, was completed by the summer of 1999.
INVESTIGATION
There was no officially sanctioned investigation into the cause of the October 12–13, 1997 fires that ravaged downtown Gary. If there were, the results are not publically available. The only thing I have been able to gather were quotes from Gary Fire Chief Richard Gilliam and others in the papers. It was reported that there was some sort of investigation happening, however, in the press officials never spoke the word “arson”. Instead they used “suspicious”…others said the fires were “deliberate”. I — and many others — find this dubious. Chief Gilliam stated the fire was “…suspicious, but not necessarily intentional. We often have vagrants who stay up in these buildings…”.
Additionally, the immediate razing of some structures involved with the fire hampered the investigation. Debris and other materials were moved by crews, which potentially ruined evidence left over. The fire chief lamented about their ability to conduct a proper investigation. We do have evidence in the papers that lent credence to firefighters leaning towards arson — even as the fire was fresh and had not yet destroyed many buildings. Yet within 24-hours, the fire chief was sort of singing a new tune. He stated he felt the initial fire was started by vagabonds or transients trying to “keep warm”. This would move the fire from being labeled as arson to being accidental.
Investigators wanted time to access each burned building. They wanted to scourer each scene, one by one, and try to find any evidence of splash patterns, containers that may have contained accelerants, etc. It doesn’t seem like the City of Gary cared all that much. Demolition continued and I’m sure as a result the fire department could not conduct a full and proper investigation. This is dubious, and this sentiment was shared by many at the time. Alas, there’s nothing to really go on. So we must conduct our own little investigation.
It was not cold that night. It was warm enough for people to walk around with no jackets on — in spite of the hard southern winds blowing. Yes, if one wanted to say — light a fire in a barrel — it would have been easier for one to choose a building to start that fire on account of the wind. No, it is not impossible for a fire in a barrel to get out of control. Yet, considering the area the point of origin was reported to be, it is my opinion that it would have been very hard for a wind-driven fire to spark up…let alone be carried downwind to hit buildings across the street.
FIRE FLOW
The point of origin was reported to be in an abandoned business immediately north of Broadway Shopping Mall (BSM), 737 Broadway. This building shared its south wall with BSMs north wall. The wind would not have been able to blow through the solid brick that made up BSM. BSM was closed up, locked and gated shut at the moment the fire started. The winds would have to take the fire and push it north through another building — that was also made up of brick and boarded up. That other building also caught fire. Both buildings were burning when the first fire crews arrived.
Witnesses who first reported the fires stated they were burning in the alley behind these abandoned businesses…not inside of them. This would lead me to believe the fire was started in the alley behind 717 Broadway. Then winds caught the flames and spread them north to the second business. By the time firefighters arrived, the winds had successfully forced the flames inside of both buildings. Holes in windows and cavernous spaces provided the perfect amount of oxygen. This made the perfect situation for the fires to grow and spread abnormally quickly.
A third building caught fire within minutes of the first responders arrival. Within a matter of minutes, these fires combined and all three building fires were roaring viciously in the 31mph winds. You would think in a wind-driven fire scenario the fires would keep pushing north, consuming all buildings until it reached the corner of 7th & Broadway, where the street would have made a barrier. Yet, that’s not what happened. There was one other large building between the three burning businesses and the corner of 7th & Broadway. This building, though adjacent to the inferno, did not burn.
From this point, the fire jumped north another half block and set the Goldblatt’s complex on fire. Three buildings were ignored between 7th & Broadway and Goldblatt’s. That meant four buildings between the point of origin and Goldblatt’s were not on fire. This is strange and it’s no wonder why firefighters suspected — at least — that the Goldblatt’s fire was “suspicious”. Though these buildings were ‘skipped’, the fires would still threaten them, requiring the department to protect them from burning up for the rest of the night. There was some damage done, as to be expected.
One source stated that the old Gordon’s Department Store on the corner of 8th & Broadway was also on fire, and suggested that this fire was the point of origin. If we were to indulge this claim, this would mean the fire started inside of Gordon’s somewhere and the wind carried embers that totally bypassed the Palace Theater — which is a humongous, cavernous complex full of oxygen ready to fuel a fire — skipped BSM and set the adjacent building next to BSM on fire. I just can’t see this scenario happening. Then there’s the fact that Gordon’s was not razed. It still stands today, rotting and buckling into itself. Though I included Gordon’s in the story, I have no idea if Gordon’s was actually involved with the blaze. It probably was not.
The fire on the roof of Genesis Towers is pretty easy to explain away. It is indeed plausible that the wind blew embers from the original fire zone across the street and deposited them on top of this building. If there were an arsonist running around that night, I highly doubt he/she had access to the roof of this 10-story building. It would also mean, if an arsonist did somehow have access, this person was depraved beyond belief considering the fact that the towers had over 100 residents living inside of it. I would say this fire was caused by nature and not man. Same for Gary City Methodist Church. It is safe to assume these two buildings were unintended victims — if the fires were indeed arson related.
The final, and most mysterious fire is GPS Memorial Auditorium. This building was right across the alley from the point of origin, but did not begin to burn until — at most — 45 minutes after the conflagration began. It is possible that a shift in the direction of the winds caused embers to jump the alley and set this building on fire. However, the timing is what throws me off. Firemen told the media that the southwest corner of the roof burned first before the winds spread flames across the entire surface. This went down in a matter of minutes. It is strange — the timing of the ignition. By time it went up the entire area around it were swarming with firemen and police officers from all over the region. How did this building escape protection? Why was it not being monitored? Could someone have actually snuck past emergency crews and set Memorial on fire? I think not.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The media had no qualms with using the word “arson”. However, they had no proof of such a claim. Investigators also had no proof. It is entirely possible that a transient lit a barrel on fire and winds might have knocked it over, which kickstarted the entire event. It could very well be an accidental fire exacerbated by winds and other weather factors. Yet the prospect of ‘arson’ lingered over the entire situation.
People started to spread conspiracy theories about Mayor King ‘ordering’ the fire to happen so that it would be easier to raze downtown Gary. They used the fact that the buildings affected were already on the demolition list. To me, this only shows that King did not order the arsons. Why would he burn up buildings that were already slated to be demolished anyway? It’s a waste of time and resources…not to mention entirely fraudulent.
It was King who first gave the event a name — “The Fire of 1997.". It was Tim Arends, owner of the Preserve Indiana (Indiana Historic Architecture) website, who coined the phrase “The Great Gary Arson of 1997.“ He told me in an email the phrase was based on “The Great Chicago Fire”. Gary’s fire wasn’t nearly as drastic as that. However, in terms of historic preservation, there were changes occurring that were just as consequential.
The final word. No one knows how the fires started. No one knows if it was indeed arson or an accidental fire. No investigation was conducted. No culprits or suspects were questioned. Fires appeared out of nowhere the night of October 12 at downtown Gary, requiring the entire region to put them out. Hardly anyone remembers these fires because life in Gary changes so drastically on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, for the curious, they will find these write-ups and understand why Gary is the way it is today.