Fort Scott makes plans to rebuild downtown

Nevada Daily Mail

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- In the aftermath of what is now referred to as the Great Fire of 2005 in Fort Scott, city officials are moving ahead with recovery plans. On March 11, the downtown district was ravaged by fire in which 10 buildings were destroyed.

Fort Scott City Manager Richard Nienstedt reported to the city commission and concerned property owners that a five-phase plan of recovery has been developed: Quenching the fire, investigation to determine the cause, cleanup, planing for redevelopment, and implementation of that plan.

The fire was brought under control with the assistance of 24 area fire departments, a National Guard Unit from El Dorado, Kan., and aerial support from Wichita, which provided Black Hawk helicopters to help douse the fire. As the weekend waned, the extent of the total damage became apparent and multiple efforts began to unfold including the investigation of the fire, seeking state and federal support, clean up efforts, along with frequent communiqués to update local business owners and the media.

With the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, an ATF National Response Team was sent to Fort Scott. The findings of the investigation indicated that arson was not involved and left the cause as undetermined. Numerous site visits by state and federal officials followed including walking tours by Governor Sebelius, and Congressman Jim Ryun.

Cleanup began almost immediately, facilitated by a $400,000 Urgent Need grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. This grant will be used for acquisition of unstable structures affected by the fire, repairs, removal and relocation. A temporary location has been established for the ruins of the buildings which will be buried later.

According to Nienstedt, "The cleanup will take up to an estimated 60 days. We are working carefully in order to salvage artifacts from the buildings to be used in the reconstruction effort."

Throughout and following the fire, safety has remained a top priority. City works personnel and the Fort Scott Police Department manned check points around the affected area, keeping onlookers out of harm's way. The area will remain cordoned off until building stabilization is complete.

"Even as the ruins continued to smolder, citizens began to how they could assist in the rebuilding efforts," said Nienstedt.

He noted that twice before, Fort Scott has experienced devastating fires, and in both cases, "we rose out of the ashes similar to the mythical Phoenix. The Phoenix Building Committee will soon be established comprised of historians, city officials, and interested local citizens. Part of the rebuilding process will involve looking at other communities that have experienced similar catastrophes."