Noel Fire Cause ‘Undetermined’

An origin cannot be uncovered in the Dec. 28 fire in Noel that decimated the African Grocery Store and mosque, state investigators say.

An investigation conducted by the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office concluded that the fire’s cause is not known.

“Due to the amount of damage, no point of origin or cause could be determined,” investigator John Matney wrote in the report. “Therefore, this fire is listed as undetermined.”

Ann A. Harmon is listed as the owner of three of the four buildings, including 300, 302 and 304

Main Street. Her family built the structures in 1899. Harmon said she rents the corner building, 300 Main Street, to Muhammad Abdi and his wife Lull Ahmed, according to the report.

Harmon said she rents 302 Main Street as a Muslim mosque. She told investigators that she does not have insurance on the structure because she could not find a company that would insure such old buildings, the report states.

During the investigation, officials found that the upper level of the building, in which the fire started, had collapsed into the lower level. The upper level consisted of living

quarters in the rear half of the building.

“Charring on remaining areas in the rear of the structure indicates the fire was on the upper level until it burned through the floor and fell into the lower level,” investigators wrote.

At the time of the fire, the electrical service was in operation. Service was being supplied by overhead lines to the service entrance, located on the west side of the structure, according to the report. “The service entrance was clear of fire damage and was eliminated as a possible cause of the fire,” investigators wrote.

A mechanical area, the lower south half, had a kitchen area that had industrial sized-and small home-sized equipment. Investigators identified the front half of the lower level as the store, where African foods and items were sold. The mosque was in the adjoining building to the east.

Investigators found that the fire spread from the roof of this building to nearby buildings to the east for a total of four buildings.

During the early morning fire, Blake Barrett, the 22-year-old son of Noel Fire Chief Brandon Barrett, was injured while fighting the fire alongside the Noel Fire Department.

Earlier that morning, Abdinasir Hussein Mohamed, 29, pulled a woman to safety, then was air-flighted to a hospital in Tulsa, Okla. He later died.

The store and mosque were situated right by the train tracks, just a few doors down from the town’s United States Post Office.

Anderson, Pineville, Southwest City, Sulphur Springs, Ark., and Gravette, Ark., fire departments fought the blaze for at least five hours. The Noel Fire Department fought the fire for most of the day, officials have said.

The Noel Fire Department continues to work toward shoring up a full roster of employees. Barrett told Noel City Council members last week that the department is still shortstaffed, with only eight firefighters available.

He said he hopes that his son, Blake, will be released soon from his medical restrictions, which would boost the roster. Blake was to have a follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon on March 4, he said.

The younger Barrett was injured when he entered the first building and a burnt beam fell on him. He was taken to Mercy in Joplin, where doctors said he has three compression fractures on vertebrae No. 5, 7 and 8.

In response to the fire, the Islamic Society of Joplin hosted an online fundraiser to collect money for a new mosque in the Noel Muslim community. Records show the effort raised $100,730, meeting its goal and completing the effort, according to information provided online.