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After a fire early Sunday morning, all that remains of the Shogun restaurant on Third Avenue are charred menus, rubble, and memories. The blaze lit up the sky, and the flames were so hot they melted and bent a steel beam.
Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer says it's going to take a while to determine the cause due to the dangers on the other side of the orange fence that blocks off the building from the public.
"It is a total loss. We are waiting for a lot of the water to recede and for some heavy equipment to give us a hand on safely making our way in there to do a good forensic investigation," Schaeffer said.
There were many obstacles firefighters faced while battling the flames Sunday morning, from nearby buildings to power lines. Over the next couple of days, Schaeffer says they will start moving in and inspecting the now burnt-out building.
They will be sifting through the rubble piece-by-piece to find out how and where the fire started.
"It's going to be incredibly challenging. This is essentially recreating a building and determining what or where the origin of the fire (was): the first material (the) burn started from. It takes a lot of time."
(story: Peter Maxwell, Reporter; photo & video: KHQ.com)