CHAMPAIGN — It may be the end of the week before the Champaign Fire Department knows what caused a fire on Wednesday in Campustown, exactly where it started and how much damage it did.

The city of Champaign and the owners of three Campustown buildings have agreed to demolish the third-floor area of three buildings damaged by the fire on Wednesday.

Champaign Fire Department spokeswoman Dena Schumacher said Green Street will remain closed between Sixth and Wright streets until the partial demolition is completed, probably Thursday or Friday.

Schumacher said firefighters will remain on the scene around the clock at 625-627-629 E. Green St. until the demolition work has been completed.

The buildings contain Zorba’s and Mia Za’s Cafe restaurants and the Pitaya clothing boutique.

Schumacher said the fire department received reports of a fire near Green and Wright streets at 7:57 a.m. Wednesday. Both Champaign and Urbana firefighters responded to the call.

Firefighters dealt with a partial roof collapse of the 1920s-era building at about 8:30 a.m., she said.

While the fire was largely contained by 10 a.m., firefighters continued to put out hot spots that appeared on the roof through the afternoon.

Schumacher said there was heavy damage to the parapet area above the second floor and smoke and water damage to the first and second floors and the basement. A dollar estimate wasn’t available Wednesday, she said.

"From the fire department’s standpoint, we are going to call this a good stand," Schumacher said. "Fire personnel from Champaign and Urbana did a terrific job working together holding the fire and keeping it in that one building.

"It could have easily gone over to other buildings," she said.

Schumacher said the partial demolition is expected to affect a seating area for Mia Za’s and at least one apartment. She said she did not know if the apartment was occupied.

"A structural engineer has come to the scene and has determined the building is not safe for anybody to be nearby or in," she said. "He is recommending that the parapet come down and the glass windows come down" on the building.

Schumacher said firefighters met with business owners to discuss building concerns.

"The bottom line is, we cannot investigate, we cannot let people nearby and we cannot let the street be opened until a determination has been made on what will happen to the building," she said.

Structural engineer John Frauenhoffer, who got on the fire department’s ladder truck to view the walls of the building up close, said the fire department was effective in preventing much more serious damage to Campustown.

"The fire department did a terrific job on containing the fire and not letting it spread to the adjacent buildings," Frauenhoffer said. "There was no fire damage to the adjacent roofs. The fire damage was contained just to that building. That’s a Herculean feat in firefighting. The fire company really did a fabulous job."

However, Frauenhoffer also said the fire damaged the roof structure to 625-627-629
E. Green St.

"The roof structure is basically destroyed, leaving the top half of the front wall unsupported," Frauenhoffer said. "There will have to be some selective demolition done to the front wall and to part of the back wall before it is safe for pedestrians and vehicles."

Frauenhoffer said the wall above the second floor framing has to go down.

"Some windows will also have to come down because it is in the top half of the wall," Frauenhoffer said. "There doesn’t appear to be damage to the second floor, but above that, there is serious structural damage."

Frauenhoffer said he recommends the demolition work be done as soon as feasibly possible.

"The longer it is there, the bigger the risk gets," Frauenhoffer said.

When the partial demolition is completed, Schumacher said fire investigators will be able to go into the building to determine a cause.

Schumacher said all the other buildings on the block can be re-occupied on Thursday morning, but some of the buildings remained without electricity on Wednesday night.

Schumacher listed the owners of two of the buildings as Ted Giannopoulos of Athens, Greece, and Jeff Wampler of Champaign. The website of the Champaign County Supervisor of Assessments listed the third owner as David McBride of Champaign.

The American Red Cross has offered to provide food, clothing and shelter for people displaced by the fire, whether they are in town now or when they return from spring break. The Red Cross can also provide referrals to other agencies for the replacement of items lost by the fire. For more information, call 351-5861.

Brian Mertz of Champaign said he was driving by campus on Springfield Avenue at 8 a.m. Wednesday when he saw a big plume of "pitch black" smoke to the south.

When Mertz went to the corner of Green and Wright streets to start taking photos with his cellphone, he said, the intersection had already been roped off.

"The smoke was coming from the second floor, and there was a big focus on the roof," Mertz said. "The fire department had two ladder trucks up, and one was using two hoses for awhile."

Mertz said he saw visible flames shooting up over the roof of Mia Za’s Cafe at one point, followed by more light smoke about 20 minutes later.

"I was very impressed with how well they kept the fire contained," Mertz said. "There are so many buildings tightly packed there."

Schumacher said University of Illinois students often park in an alley behind the building. Because students are on spring break, firefighters were able to put a truck back at that location to help fight the fire.