The fire that destroyed a vacant apartment building Saturday morning at 1500 Pauline has been classified as suspicious by police and is under investigation.
Police are investigating the Saturday fire at 1500 Pauline. Officials told AnnArbor.com Monday the fire is suspicious.
In a short statement released Monday, Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said the fire has been deemed suspicious and the cause is not known at this point. The fire burned through one of the three buildings at 1500 Pauline early Saturday and required 40 firefighters from four departments to control.
The complex has been vacant since the last tenant moved out on Sept. 20 and was slated to be demolished after a permit was finalized on Oct. 9.
Firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire at 6 a.m. Saturday, and the investigation into the cause was under way by 11 a.m. that same day. Officials from Avalon Housing, the owner of the property, told AnnArbor.com Monday they haven’t received any more information about the incident from police.
The destroyed building was on the northern edge of the property. The two other buildings on the property were left standing but suffered some damage from the extreme heat of the blaze.
Avalon Housing is planning a new complex on the site and is expecting to build 32 affordable housing units and a community center. The nonprofit had planned to raze the existing structures.
Bush did not return a phone call from AnnArbor.com attempting to find out more about the fire, including what makes investigators believe the fire is suspicious.
Anyone with information about the fire is encouraged to call the Ann Arbor police anonymous tip line at 734-794-7939 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.