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Disasters
The Associated Press
St. Paul

Federal specialists called to help investigate St. Paul fire

St. Paul Fire
Firefighters monitor the site of an overnight fire in downtown St. Paul, Minn. on Tuesday, Aug. 4. A hotel under construction went up in flames on Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse.
Scott Takushi | Pioneer Press via AP

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Expert federal investigators are joining state and local teams who are working to find a cause of a huge fire at a hotel construction site in St. Paul.

Fire caused extensive damage to the five-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel Tuesday and significant damage to a six-story apartment building under construction at the development site known as the Seven Corners Gateway project.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has sent members of its National Response Team to downtown St. Paul to assist in the investigation.

Special Agent in Charge Terry Henderson, in St. Paul, said the specialists were called because of the size of the building, the large amount of damage and the number of investigative leads.

ATF spokesperson Ashlee J. L. Sherrill said “nothing leads in any direction at the moment” as to a cause of the fire. Arson was just one possibility, she added.

“The extra personnel will help move this investigation along more quickly,” Henderson said.

The federal teams include veteran agents who have fire and explosive expertise, forensic chemists, and accelerant detection canines.

It's not the first time the National Response Team has been called to Minnesota this year. The team has helped with more than 150 arson investigations in the Twin Cities after a period of unrest over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after being restrained by police. Many of those cases remain under investigation.

The team also activated in January to support the Press Bar and Parlor fire investigation in St. Cloud and in February to support a behavioral health clinic fire investigation in Grand Rapids.