A local family remains heartbroken after a historic building on their property burned to the ground last week in rural Platte County.
Emergency crews responded to 9600 NW Old Tiffany Springs Rd., near the intersection with N. Amity Avenue, in Kansas City, Mo. in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Aug. 18. By the time they arrived, most of the structure had been destroyed, according to a news report.
According to a Kansas City (Mo.) Fire Department spokesperson, the cause and origin of the fire are unknown, and the case remains open with the Kansas City (Mo.) Police Department’s bomb and arson unit. Anyone with information on who or what started the fire can call the TIPS hotline at (816) 474-8477. Most fires like this in a rural area tend to go unsolved, the spokesperson said.
Owners of the property, which has been in the Clay family for years, believe the origins to be suspicious. No one was living in the old home — built from oak and walnut timber — and it was being used for storage at the time of the fire. According to family members, the Clays were the second family to live in the three-room house built in the 1800s. Later, they added a fourth room.
Trevor Clay, a 2002 Platte County High School graduate, found information that his great grandfather bought the property in the 1800s, and his uncle Scott Clay lived in another home located on the property.
Trevor Clay wants to offer a monetary reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest of someone who started the fire.