The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

Update: Friday, November 11th at 1:30 p.m.:

The Columbia Fire Department and University of Missouri Police completed their on-site investigation into the fire that destroyed an abandoned MU building on Thursday.

Batallion Chief Steve Sapp said no cause has been determined for the fire yet, but that it is being investigated as a suspicious fire since the building had been abandoned with no utilities running to it.

Sapp said a contractor was hired to demolish the building on Friday. He said the building was too dangerous to keep it standing.

MUPD and Columbia Police have reported vandalism in the area in the past. The University is working on a value of the building. It was decommissioned and had been slated for demolition in the next year.

Officials are following up on reports that witnesses saw two cars drive away from the scene.

Update: Friday, November 11th at 8:45 a.m.:

A fire destroyed an abandoned MU research facility in Columbia.

The Columbia Fire Department was called around 8:20 Thursday night to Sinclair Farms on South Sinclair Road. Crews say they the building was already half-way engulfed when they arrived.

Boone County crews were called in to help. Around 10:30, the walls and the rest of the roof collapsed.

The building was no longer used and slated for demolition, so there were no chemical or biological health risks from the building. There were no injures.

Investigators say because of the significant destruction, finding a cause will be hard.

They are investigating a report of one or more vehicles seen leaving the area shortly before the fire was noticed. Anyone with information should call the Columbia Fire Department.

Original Story:

Fire Thursday night destroyed an old research building owned by the University of Missouri. 

Firefighters from Boone County and the City of Columbia reponded to the massive blaze at 5735 Sinclair Road, in south Columbia off Nifong Boulevard, just before 8:30pm.

When crews arrived, the building at the old Sinclair Research Farm was fully engulfed in flames and the roof began to collapse. Columbia Fire Department Fire Marshal Steve Sapp told KRCG the building had not been in use for about 10 years.

The public was kept well away from the building, but the area near the Cascades subdivision was not evacuated.

Before firefighters cleared that scene, the Columbia Fire Department also responded to another fire call at  2316 Cherry Ridge Ct.