Golden – Roofers apparently started the two-alarm fire last week that damaged the historic building housing the Old Capitol Grill restaurant, Golden fire officials said today.
Cost of damage to the two-story red-brick building at 1122 Washington Ave. and its contents was estimated by fire officials at $1.3 million.
The back two-thirds of the second floor were gutted by the blaze, while the remainder of the building – including the first-floor restaurant – received heavy smoke and water damage.
A roofing contractor’s workers used a propane torch to do repairs around duct work on the corrugated-metal roof, said city spokeswoman Sabrina Henderson. The torch ignited combustible material in the ducting that led into the attic.
Henderson said fire officials called the roofers’ actions “accidental.”
Golden did not require the roofing company to obtain a building permit since the work involved emergency repairs, Henderson said. However, the company should have gotten a “hot work” permit from the Golden Fire Department to use a propane torch but had not.
The building was constructed in 1863, with an addition completed in 1866, as a home for the Colorado Territorial Legislature. It later served as a mercantile and a Masons lodge.
Restoration was completed in 1993. One of the buildings owners, Skip Ahern, initially estimated it would cost about $5 million to repair the fire damage.
Today, the building was turned over to Ahern who Henderson said is working with an architect to support an upper wall with trusses before the roof is removed. The work is expected to take several weeks.
The city already has shored up the walls along 12th Street and Miners Alley with steel supports. Tenants are being allowed into the building to remove equipment and belongings.
Henderson said it is not known how long 12th Street will be closed between Washington Avenue and Miners Alley.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
