DECATUR, Ill. (WAND)- The City of Decatur and its taxpayers will not be held responsible for the damage costs from the Aramark fire.
On Saturday, May 1, Decatur firefighters responded to a large fire at the former Aramark building near the intersection of Calhoun Street and Grand Avenue.
When firefighters arrived, the flames had spread to two other buildings.
Altogether, two of the three buildings involved ended up collapsing.
City crews began clean-up efforts, including tearing down walls to stabilize the structure in order to keep them from falling into the road, along with clearing the Grand Avenue street area, carrying a cost of several thousand dollars.Â
The owner of the former Aramark building was out of the country as of Wednesday, May 5. They have since returned from overseas and are now cooperating with the state's fire marshal, according to Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth.
The city will be paid back for the work already done, an estimated cost of $250,000.
According to Kindseth, the property owner has a "large insurance policy," and intends to clean up the rest of the site, and is in talks with the same contractors who already did the work the city hired them to do.
