CINCINNATI — It's been more than a month since an early morning fire shut down all southbound lanes of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge. Since then, little has been released about what may have caused the fire.
Fire officials said on the day of the fire that they originally responded to calls about a possible car fire impacting the bridge. They said upon responding, they found no car fire. Instead, they realized the fire originated at the 1,000 Hands Playground at Sawyer Point Park.
Assistant Chief Matt Flagler said while firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire at the playground, the heat spread and caught some of the materials on the bridge like netting and wires on fire.
WCPO has repeatedly asked officials for any updates on the investigation, however, the Cincinnati Fire Department tells us they cannot confirm a cause as it is still an active investigation. While rumors have circulated on social media that the fire was started by a person who was homeless, the Cincinnati Fire Department did say they cannot confirm who or what started it at this time.
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We reached out to local council members to ask them about their concerns and focuses for this investigation. Anna Albi said she's eager for the bridge to be up and running but wants to afford the fire department the time and space for its investigation. Council member Seth Walsh said the origin of the fire is "lower end" in terms of his priorities.
"What we know is there was a fire," Walsh said. "I'm OK waiting to figure out what caused the fire at this point. I want to solve the rest of the problems."
We are still waiting for responses from the mayor, city manager and other council members.
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