FREDERICK, Colo. (KDVR) — An owner of a northern Colorado mortuary is facing 152 counts of unlawful acts of cremation after investigators began looking into the operation.

Investigators began putting the pieces together after the Greenwood and Myers Mortuary caught fire this summer.

With new developments cropping up around Frederick it was no surprise to locals to see a new building come up where the Catholic church used to be on Fifth and Walnut Streets.

Greenwood and Myers Mortuary very much has the looks of a new place in town.

“As far as them having funeral services or memorial services or a lot of traffic in and out, it was pretty minimal,” said one resident.

That was earlier this year. Since then, the mortuary caught fire — that was after it was issued an order by the state to stop work in April.

One woman in Frederick, who asked not to be identified, told investigators there was a familiar smell the day the fire happened.

“I looked around the see if anyone was barbecuing because it was definitely charcoal-lighter fluid smell,” she said.

The day the building caught fire, the resident said she could smell something in the Frederick air.

“I immediately just chalked it up to somebody was being over-aggressive trying to catch their charcoal on fire,” she said.

There’s no official word on if the odor or fire are connected.

“I don’t know if it has anything to do with it,” the resident said. “It was just a really odd, strong smell.”

The investigation is ongoing, in the meantime the City of Frederick confirmed to FOX31 that the mortuary owner is in the process of bringing the building up to code.

The owner would still need to pass an inspection before they can offer services again.