The Chase Bank Building in downtown Peoria will remain closed for now while assessments on the building's fire suppression system are conducted this week.
The Peoria Fire Department closed the building after a water leak damaged the sprinkler system last Thursday. Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger said the building's alarms were already down, but the owners were working to fix it when the leak happened.
He said the building could not remain open while both the alarms and sprinklers were not working.
Stacy Peterson, strategic communications manager for the City of Peoria, said Pipco, a Peoria based construction company, completed an initial walk through of the building. She said they would "conduct a comprehensive assessment of the fire protection systems and components to ensure it is restored to an operational level" this week.
After the assessment is completed, she said Pipco will give a report to the city outlining a proposal to fix the system. Peterson said city staff will work with the affected businesses wanting to reopen.
The 20-story building, located at 111/125 NE Jefferson St., has numerous offices rented out to other companies.
In a statement to WCBU, Chase Bank said they had little notice of the closing and are currently working on a plan. Customers can use the branch of 7707 Knoxville Ave., or use the bank's website.
The building is owned by MJ Illinois. The owner of that limited liability corporation is based in Georgia.
