PROVO — An alarm sounded inside the Provo Tabernacle about 90 minutes before firefighters were alerted to the blaze that gutted the historic building last month, according to preliminary investigation results released Wednesday.
Provo Fire Chief Blair Camp also announced that investigators have determined the fire was accidental, not arson, though he didn't say exactly what caused the fire.
"We've studied the burn patterns in the building," Camp said. "We have also brought in an accelerant sniffing K-9. We found no accelerant in the building. We're confident the fire was accidental."
Investigators have put together a timeline of events in the early morning hours of Dec. 17 that indicates a security officer was alerted that something was wrong about 1:10 a.m. It was roughly 90 minutes later that a security officer at a neighboring building saw smoke coming from the roof of the tabernacle and the fire department was notified.
"It's important to remember these are just a few, preliminary facts," Camp said, "and we are still completing a comprehensive investigation of the cause. This is a complicated case, and we look forward to issuing a complete investigative report in a few weeks."
Investigators say a security officer hired to guard equipment for a musical production at the tabernacle heard what he believed to be a security alarm alerting him to an intruder about 1:10 a.m. The guard did not find an intruder when searching the building's main floor, and he did not see or smell any smoke.
The security guard contacted dispatchers and asked them to contact a responsible party for the building and notify them that an alarm had gone off. About 1:19, dispatchers contacted someone involved in the musical production group that had been rehearsing in the tabernacle, investigators said.
During back-and-forth discussions between the security guard, dispatchers and a building coordinator over the next 15 minutes, it was determined the alarm likely was faulty and the security guard silenced the alarm.
At 2:40 a.m., a security guard at the neighboring Nu Skin building alerted his counterpart at the Provo Tabernacle that "smoke or steam" was coming for the building's roof. The security guard contacted dispatchers, who notified the fire department at 2:43 a.m., according to investigators.
Investigative crews have spent more than 800 man hours in an effort to determine the cause of the fire, Camp said. Roughly 75 tons of debris have been removed from the gutted building.
The tabernacle is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church officials have not decided whether the more than 100-year-old building will be restored.
"The property is still under the control of local authorities as they seek to find answers regarding the cause of the fire," church officials said in a statement Wednesday. "When that process is complete, we will have the opportunity to evaluate the building and determine the best course of action. We anticipate this will be a lengthy process, but we will make our plans known as soon as we are able."
Timeline of events
Dec. 16, 10:30-11 p.m. Dress rehearsal ends. Security officer remains on scene to protect production equipment stored outside the building and to check the heat in the building every three hours.
Dec. 17, 1:10 a.m. Security officer hears alarm inside building, believes it to be a security alarm indicating an intruder. He searches building's main floor and rules out intruder. He radios dispatcher to call a responsible party for the building. He does not see or smell any smoke in the building and does not report it as a fire.
1:19 a.m. Dispatcher reaches a person associated with filming the musical production who says he will call the building coordinator.
1:25 a.m. Person associated with filming calls back dispatch center, reports he has spoken with the building coordinator who says that the alarm has gone off before, and that it is a false alarm. He conveys a message from the building coordinator to reset the alarm.
1:29 a.m. Security officer reports to dispatch that he has reset the alarm and it keeps going off.
1:34 a.m. Security officer reports to dispatch that he has silenced the alarm. He returns to his post outside.
2:40 a.m. A security guard at the neighboring Nu Skin building alerts the tabernacle security officer that either smoke or steam is coming from the roof of the tabernacle. Security officer radios dispatch to report the fire.
2:43 a.m. Dispatch notifies fire department.
2:44 a.m. Fire truck, returning from an alarm in another part of the city, arrives at the tabernacle.
Contributing: Sam Penrod
e-mail: jpage@desnews.com