ATF’s National Response Team poring over Chamber fire scene

Federal, state and local investigators continue to examine a downtown Beaufort site for clues about the cause of the blaze that destroyed the new Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce building early Saturday morning.

Chamber president and CEO Larry Holman plans a news conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday to give a statement and answer questions from news outlets. He said he had not received an update from investigators as of Monday afternoon.

The federal team of fire investigators and special agents in Beaufort is an experienced group with varied skills.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent about 20 investigators and agents to help determine the cause of the fire and where it began. Known as the National Response Team, they include fire investigators, forensic mapping experts, accelerent-sniffing dogs, engineers and chemists, an ATF news release said.

The group is called to large and complex cases. In the past, federal agents investigated the Charleston furniture store fire that killed nine firefighters in 2007, a string of church fires in Texas in 2010 and an explosion that killed 14 in Texas in 2013.

This is the federal team’s second case since the beginning of October.

Among clues guiding federal and state investigators is surveillance video from cameras outside the current Black Chamber of Commerce building on Bladen Street, Holman said. He is waiting on his security company to provide the video and has not watched the footage himself.

Cameras on the side of the brick building face the new building that burned across the street.

Holman said his first reaction Saturday morning was that the fire was arson. In July 2015, someone painted “Racist” on a sign marking the site of the new building before work began.

Local leaders have urged patience as the investigation continues. Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Chief Reece Bertholf said Monday the investigation remained focused on what caused the fire and where it began.

On Monday morning, two ATF officials looked down into the shell of the building from a metal basket lifted by a crane. Another group of federal agents behind the building sifted through debris with heavy rakes and a backhoe.

Some of the charred debris remained in the roadway. The downtown block at Bladen and Duke street remained cordoned off with yellow tape as investigators worked. Tents were set up with folding tables and chairs for them across the street from the property.

The $2.2 million project was almost complete, with a grand opening planned for January. Plans included a commercial kitchen for job training, office space for a business incubator and a downstairs art gallery. Holman said Saturday the project will move forward.

Firefighters responded to find the building engulfed in flames about 1:40 a.m. Saturday and fought the fire about three hours. The roof collapsed and an oak tree and wooden porch and stairway behind the building were charred.

A sprinkler system in the building had been tested but was not yet operational, Holman said.

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This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "ATF’s National Response Team poring over Chamber fire scene."