Manhattan firefighters attack flames Thursday morning in Aggieville. (Staff photos by Brady Bauman)
An investigation is underway to find out what started a massive fire that engulfed The Dusty Bookshelf during the early morning hours Thursday in Manhattan’s Aggieville business district.
The Manhattan Fire Department, Riley County Police Department, Kansas Office of the State Marshal Fire, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are conducting a joint investigation.
At 3:45 a.m., the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 700 North Manhattan Avenue for a report of a structure fire. Upon arrival, crews found heavy smoke showing from the east end of the building. Firefighters first attacked the blaze from inside the building, but moved out after conditions worsened.
“We pulled our fire crews out of the building and within just a short time — maybe five minutes after having them out, the roof did collapse,” MFD Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes said at the scene Thursday morning.
The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within approximately three hours. A total of 30 firefighters responded on seven fire trucks. No injuries have been reported. One cat was rescued from a neighboring business. A popular fixture of The Dusty Bookshelf, a cat named Oliver, was not in the building at the time of the blaze, according to business’ Facebook page.
MFD says the building was a two-story commercial building that was under a building permit, with the name of the new business being “Co-op.” The building is considered a total loss. The owner is listed as Sherilyn and Roger Bende of Sunrise Beach, Mo. There is also smoke damage to Varsity Donuts, which shares an east wall with the building, and smoke damage has also been detected to Thread, which is separated from the building by an alley way on its west side.
“It was very devastating this morning,” Aggieville Business Association Executive Director Linda Mays told KMAN. “That’s a pillar here in Aggieville. Very sad to lose part of our history.”
Annie Spence, a self-described “townie” and an employee of Bluestem Bistro across the street on Moro, heard about the fire early Thursday morning and went to Aggieville to check on coworkers and friends who work at Varsity Donuts. She said it was a somber way to start her day.
“Growing up and going into The Dusty Bookshelf and petting the cats and being an avid reader, that’s been a hangout spot for most of my life,” Spence said. “It was exciting to see they were remodeling, so this makes me sad to see something like that go out in that way.”
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