GUTHRIE, Okla. – Authorities said they are scrambling following a fire at a historic building in downtown Guthrie.
Officials told News 4 a new tenant in one of the offices inside the Kress Building was renovating the unit when they smelled smoke.
When crews arrived, they said heavy smoke was found inside the building. Fortunately, they were able to quickly put out the fire.
The fire was contained to the Logan County Probation and Parole Office, and they said the way the building was built helped contain the blaze.
“These old buildings have been here 100 plus years, and today is a testament to how well-built they are,” said Guthrie Fire Chief Eric Harlow. “You know, this fire was very likely burning for several hours in the back of this building and, just luckily, we had someone inside the building that smelled smoke.”
Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson Matt Elliott said nobody was injured, as no staff members were inside when the fire broke out.
Now, the agency is working to finalize arrangements for a temporary location for reporting visits with Logan County offenders.
Officials said the ODOC Probation and Parole Services satellite office is believed to be a total loss.
“Right now, that office isn’t useable at all. All of the property in there was destroyed from what we understand,” Elliott said. “Paper records, the ones that were stored away survived, but the ones that were sitting out were lost as well as tons of office equipment, technology, things like that.”
The office, which was home to three officers and one training officer, served over 200 offenders.
Offenders should contact their officers at the numbers below:
- PPO Julie Hensley: 405-315-9800
- PPO Ron Shipman: 405-315-9792.
If offenders have issues contacting their officers, they can call the statewide Probation and Parole Services office at 405-425-2696.