Law office fire pronounced arson

By MARY LOU
MONTGOMERY
Courier-Post Staff Writer

“It was definitely arson,” was the ruling this morning from Louis Gray, an investigator for the State Fire Marshal’s office. “The fire had multiple points of origin, and involved the basement, second and third floors of the building.”
The investigator’s findings were a result of a two-day investigation of the weekend fire at the office building located at Fifth and Broadway.
Gray spent all of Sunday afternoon and this morning searching for clues which may be used in determining the source of the fire.
He will remain in Hannibal until someone is in custody or until all possible leads have been checked out, aiding local authorities in their investigation.
The detective division of the Hannibal Police Department said today that two suspects have been questioned in the arson, and a third unidentified suspect is being sought. There have been no arrests as of this morning, and no one was in custody.
He classed the fire Class C arson, because the building was of value although no life was endangered.
Norman Sanders, assistant chief in charge of the B crew of the Hannibal Fire Department, said seven fires in various locations were found in the building, which led to the original suspicion of arson. The State Fire Marshal’s office was called by the Hannibal Fire Department to aid in the investigation.
The building housed the law offices of Marion County Prosecutor John Lyng, who is the owner; Rep. Harold Volkmer and Hannibal City Attorney Warren Wells, Attorney William B. Spaun, and Ann Subke’s Tax Office, and the Missouri License Office.
The Hannibal Police Department said this morning there is a possibility federal agents may be called to investigate the fire, because the building housed the office of a U.S. Representative.
The fire was reported to Hannibal firemen by Brad Mitchell, who spotted the flames on the third floor as he was passing by the building. Mitchell went to Station one and rang the bell, alerting firemen of the fire at 11:55 p.m. Saturday. Roy Hark, assistant chief on the B shift, then alerted stations two and three by telephone.
All three stations responded, including the snorkel and the ladder truck from station three. Approximately three-fourths of the off duty firemen were also summoned by police dispatchers, and remained on the scene until the fire was out.
When firemen arrived, flames were burning through the roof at the rear of the building and were shooting from the third floor windows. Sanders said, “If we had arrived five minutes later and the fire had gone completely through the roof, we would have lost the whole building.” He said because of the confined state of the offices, the fire couldn’t get the oxygen it needed to spread rapidly.
Firemen were preparing to leave the scene after the third-floor fire was extinguished, when smoke was seen coming from the basement of the building. Firemen then found another fire, which had apparently been smoldering for some time.
Sanders said the first fire apparently began in the northwest corner of the third floor – the area which received the most damage.
Hardest hit by the fire were the law offices of Lyng, Wells and Volkmer, located on the third floor.
Lyng had purchased the 69-year-old building in 1977, and had nearly completed refurbishing the third floor at the time of the fire.
He said Sunday after re-examination of the contents of the charred office, that most of the files and records in the offices were not seriously damaged. He also added that any criminal records could be replaced if necessary from other sources.
Most furnishings on the third floor were seriously damaged or destroyed by heat, fire, smoke and water. Lyng had redecorated the office in keeping with the period of the building, refinishing old fixtures and restoring woodwork. The office also included a number of antiques, which were damaged or destroyed in the fire.
The second floor of the building was being prepared for renovation, and had no occupants. It had primarily water and smoke damage.
The first floor contained the Missouri License Office, Ann’s Tax Service and the law offices of William B. Spaun. All three offices received heavy smoke and water damage.
The occupants of the offices spent all day Sunday sifting through the aftermath of the fire in attempt to relocate their businesses.
The license office was closed today, while the manager, Mrs. Katherine Sampson, waited for state officials to approve the office’s move. Ann’s Tax Service has temporarily moved to 617 Broadway. She said all files and tax returns were removed from the fire, with only minor water damage.
Lyng and Wells have moved their offices to 306 A Broadway.
Spaun, who had occupied offices in the building for 41 years, has moved his office to 617 A Broadway.
All businesses except the license office were reportedly reopened in their new locations today.
Lyng said he plans to once again begin to remodel the building in preparation for future occupancy. “We started remodeling the building from a shell before – I guess we can do it again.”