The Nelson Fire Service is getting closer to resuming its physical investigation of the suspicious fire at the Kerr Apartments early this year.
Deputy fire chief Bob Slade says an engineering report on the building is complete and insurance adjustors have put a contract to clear the debris from the building out to tender.
"Right now we're waiting for these tenders to come back to the insurance adjustor, who'll make a determination of who they're going to hire and they'll determine how they're going to take the building apart in order for us to go in and finish our investigation," Slade says.
Though eyewitnesses have helped the department determine the fire's point of origin, the site is buried under several floors of debris. Slade says contractors will go in, remove enough debris for the service to conduct its investigation, then finish the job of demolition.
It's not yet clear how much demolition work will be required. While the 100 year-old heritage building was gutted by the fire, chief Simon Grypma told media at the time he was hopeful its exterior granite walls could be saved.
With the point of origin already pinned down, Slade says the investigation is "just a matter of determining what was in that area at the time."
The January 6 fire started in the basement of the 38-unit apartment block around midnight, and soon spread through all three floors of the building. Soon after, it was deemed suspicious in nature.