An round-shaped vacant building in the 8600 block of Old Hwy. 21 in Goldman was significantly damaged by a fire on May 11.
Goldman Fire Chief Curtis Peters said firefighters were dispatched to the fire at about 10 p.m. May 11. When they arrived, about 50 percent of the building was on fire.
“There was heavy smoke and heavy fire in the rear,” Peters said, adding he upgraded the call to a second alarm fire to get additional firefighters on the scene.
Because the building has been vacant for several years and firefighters weren’t sure about the condition of the floor, they went into defense mode, attacking the fire from the exterior of the building, he said.
Peters said the vacant building has housed a number of businesses over the years, most recently a tree-trimming service. Before that it housed a meat processing business and a taxidermist.
He said people often refer to the building as a round hut design, but it’s actually an airplane hangar type of design. According to Jefferson County records, the commercial property was built in 1960.
Peters said the building won’t be salvageable and needs to be torn down.
He said both the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the fire.
Grant Bissell, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, said the building had been vacant for more than 30 years. He said Tuesday that the investigation was not finished, but the cause will likely be “undetermined.”
He said the investigation investigator found no sign of accelerant or obvious arson, but a lot of combustibles were being stored inside. He also said the investigator found evidence of squatters living there.
Bissell said the fire damage was primarily in the back of the building.
Firefighters remained on the scene with investigators until almost 3 a.m., Peters said.
He said the Saline Valley, Antonia, Cedar Hill, Hillsboro, De Soto Rural and Mapaville fire protection districts helped with the call, and the Big River Ambulance District also responded to the scene.