Questions remain two years after Old Town fire

In the two years since the historic Mercantile Building in Old Town Auburn was gutted by fire, there are still more questions than answers."We can say that the fire is suspicious, that's where we're at," said Battalion Chief Mark D'Ambrogi with the Auburn Fire Department. "We have no official persons of interest at this time."It was around 2:30 in the morning of Oct. 18, 2005 when the blaze broke out in front of the century-old building. When fire crews arrived just moment later, the fire was fully involved.Initial thoughts were that the fire could have been caused by an electrical malfunction. Now it appears that it was intentionally set.Fire investigators determined that the fire began in the front of the building just outside the doors to the American Trading Company, which occupied the center location of the Mercantile Building.The roof of the historic building, erected in 1885, collapsed and firefighters had to use a ladder hose to fight the flames shooting from the roof. The Mercantile Building remains empty."We got the front deck back on and a roof on the place," said building owner Toby Richardson. "I'm waiting on approval for the rear deck plans that have been submitted."Richardson, a local criminal attorney, said he's hoping the building will be ready for occupancy within the next few months.He won't say exactly what businesses may move into the facility, but there's been talk of restaurants or other food-related establishments, he said. The owners of The Trading Company lost everything. Awful Annie's restaurant sustained water and smoke damage, as did the Lemon Tree. The Mahogany, a small art gallery, suffered a near complete loss. The gallery was housed in the Mercantile Building.Linda Robinson, owner of Sun River Clothing in Old Town Auburn, said since the devastating fire business in Old Town has been on a steady increase."I think it's important to let people know that we are still here and hanging in," she said. There is a resurgence of business in Old Town since the blaze, credited at least in part to the new Ale House brewery, which occupies the former Shanghai restaurant building."We're seeing some sustainable business with the opening of the Ale House," Robinson said. "You should see it at night. The brew tanks are back lit and it looks great."As for who started the "suspicious" fire and why, the public may never know."It's now between the fire department and the police department," D'Ambrogi said. "At this point we've exhausted al our persons of concern. We hope to hear something from the community."The Journal's Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com or post a comment on auburnjournal.com.