Probe Begins After OKC Apartment Fire Smoldered for Days

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Investigators were set to begin digging through rubble to determine the cause of a massive fire that smoldered for four days and engulfed a $65 million luxury apartment complex in Oklahoma City that had been under construction.

At least 80 firefighters, working in six-hour rotations, were called in to help extinguish the blaze that began on Tuesday at the 326-unit complex. No injuries were reported.

Oklahoma City firefighters were helped in their efforts to put out lingering flames by demolition crews, who cleared areas and allowed access to hotspots.

“There was just so much fire that we couldn’t access,” Scott Douglas, a spokesman for the Oklahoma City Fire Department, said “It was unsafe for our firefighters inside. So, it was definitely unsafe for our investigators.”

Douglas said investigators will rely on security footage as well as digging through rubble to help them determine what caused the massive fire.

The luxury apartment complex had been scheduled to open sometime in the spring.