Insurance investigators to probe fire

Hot Springs Fire Marshal Nate Schanlaber said Friday that private insurance investigators will probe the remains of Dragon City restaurant, 320 Central Ave., which was destroyed by fire on March 8, to determine whether litigation is warranted.

“It’s still under investigation. There are a lot of private insurance investigators coming in next week,” he said.

Schanlaber said private fire insurance investigators generally “look for accidental causes” of fires on which to base lawsuits to recoup insurance payment losses.

“Let’s say it was a malfunction in the stove, or there was a light ballast that failed. They try to see if the fire was caused by something of that nature and if it was, their goal is to file a lawsuit against whoever manufactured it and recoup some of their losses and what they paid out insurance- wise,” Schanlaber said.

There were no personal injuries in con-

nection with the Dragon City fire which started around 10 p. m. The fire’s official cause has not been determined, Schanlaber said.

According to Hot Springs Fire Department information, the fire caused about $ 450,000 in damages to the building and about $ 150,000 in damages to its contents. Dragon City was a Chinese and Japanese buffet and hibachi bar.

Two previous fires had burned parts of the restaurant, according to Hot Springs Fire Chief Ed Davis. A fire destroyed the interior of the building, which at the time was called the Panda Chinese Restaurant, in 1996. There was also a small fire on the roof of the Panda in October 2007.

Schanlaber said he is keeping his official investigation of the recent fire “under the lid.”

“It’s still open. I still have to do some more interviews and some more things, but I’m going to let them do their thing and go from there,” he said.

Evidence gathered at the scene immediately after the blaze was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for forensic examination, he said.

“It takes a month or two, unfortunately, for those results to come back.”

Schanlaber said he has concluded the official investigation of the fire, which he said the private insurance investigation will not affect.

“Once I leave the scene, that’s it,” he said. “When I did my investigation and collected my evidence, that was my time. I couldn’t leave the scene and then return for more evidence. That wouldn’t hold up in court.”