Cause of Hackney's fire 'undetermined' for now
What caused the old Hackney's building to burn down will go undetermined for now.
Lake Zurich Fire Chief John Malcolm said his department finished its report on the fire Tuesday after several days of work.
"We're leaving it as undetermined at this point," Malcolm said.
Malcolm said they did determine that the fire was started in a screened in area on the back of the old restaurant sometime early in the morning on Sunday, Sept. 9.
The building had been vacant more than a year and a half. It is currently owned by Life Time Fitness, which was given permission by the village to tear it down and build a luxury fitness club in its place.
Malcolm said the building was not insured. He said investigators know the fire wasn't caused by electricity because there were no utilities running to the site.
Malcolm said it isn't uncommon for the cause of a fire to be listed as undetermined. Investigators can amend the report if more information becomes available.
"People can always call the fire department if they have more info," Malcolm said.
Whatever caused the fire, it grew into a huge blaze. By the time firefighters arrived around 1:30 a.m., flames were shooting out of the roof. About 30 nearby fire departments were called to help.
It took more than two hours to bring the fire under control.