The ATF's San Francisco Division on Thursday said the federal agency was offering up to $10,000 that helps investigators figure out the cause of a six-alarm fire this month at an Emeryville building under construction.
ATF spokeswoman Lisa Meiman said that the Alameda County Fire Department, the Alameda County Fire Investigation Task Force and ATF’s National Response Team have been investigating the scene since the day after the July 6 fire broke out at what would have been a mixed-use development called "The Intersection." A total of 105 apartment units were destroyed.
But even after reviewing photos and videos, analyzing debris and reconstructing the scene, they have still not come up with how the blaze was set.
"We are awaiting laboratory results and other information, and we anticipate receiving a full report in the next 30 days,” San Francisco Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jill A. Snyder said in a statement.
Earlier, the project's developer, Rick Holliday, told NBC Bay Area the ATF was exploring the possibility that “renegade fireworks” over the long July 4 weekend may have played a role. The ATF has not confirmed nor denied that assertion.
Holliday also has vowed to rebuild as soon as possible.
The $40 million project is called “The Intersection” and is intended for “creative entrepreneurs to work and network.”
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Holliday said a studio might rent for $1,700 and a one-bedroom might rent for $2,200 a month.
If all goes well, Holliday said, his crews might build it even faster and tenants could begin renting on Labor Day 2017. “We’ve already done it once,” he half joked this month. “This is just a bump in the road.”
