Tom Kaufman, DFRA fire marshal, said the fire started in Seasons in the hood over the wood-fired grill and deep-fryer area. Flames then moved into duct work that was improperly installed. Although the fire-suppression system in the hood activated, it was unable to stop or hold the fire, Kaufman said.

The blaze in the 700 block of Main Avenue destroyed Seasons, Half-Price Tees and Le Rendezvous Swiss Bakery and Café. Nine firefighters were injured fighting the fire, which included an explosion that blew out the front of Le Rendezvous.

Seasons opened in 1994 under founder Roger Roessler. It was not known when the hood system was installed.

Kaufman's investigation found that while the duct work did not violate the fire code, it was installed in violation of the city's 1991 Uniform Mechanical Code. The duct was installed 6 inches from combustible paneling, but the code prescribes 18 inches of clearance. The paneling in the concealed wall and attic space ignited from either radiant heat from the duct, a hole in the duct or both.

Once the fire started in Seasons' attic, it spread quickly to the neighboring Half-Price Tees building because there was no separation between the attics of the two buildings. The lack of a separating wall was not a code violation because no codes were in effect at the time the buildings were constructed in the late 1890s, according to the investigation.

Kaufman said the DFRA's investigation is now complete.

"From here, it's up to the attorneys to figure out," Kaufman said. "There's nothing I can do because it's a city code violation."

Durango building inspector Alvie Moore and Planning Director Greg Hoch said they hadn't seen a copy of Kaufman's report and declined comment until they are able to read it.

Kaufman said a separate investigation is being conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, which will cover the cause of the explosion that destroyed the neighboring building that housed Le Rendezvous. He said because NIOSH will conduct laboratory and scale model test re-creations of the explosion, the results of the NIOSH investigation aren't expected for six to nine months.

"They do a lot of research before they issue a report, and right now all that stuff (the hood and duct) is sitting in a Denver warehouse," Kaufman said.

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