State and local fire investigators have ruled the blaze that destroyed two buildings April 18 in Campus Trails Apartments was accidental.
State Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Ricky Davis on Wednesday said the fire appears to have been caused by an electrical problem, which ignited a blaze in the attic of Building A and subsequently destroyed buildings A and B. The two buildings are connected by a breezeway.
The State Fire Marshal”s Office has concluded its investigation, Davis said.
Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan investigated the fire on the local level and agreed with the state”s assessment.
“To my knowledge, that”s what everybody agreed on,” Rosenhan said.
Demolition crews began tearing down buildings A and B today. The complex is located off Blackjack Road, near the edge of the Mississippi State University campus.
Approximately 70 Mississippi State students lived in buildings A and B and were displaced by the fire. Oktibbeha County Sheriff”s Department deputies were the first to arrive on the scene the morning of April 18 and rushed from door to door, telling residents to evacuate. No injuries were reported.
The fire at Campus Trails was the second time in as many weeks Mississippi State students were forced out of burning buildings.
On April 6, fire tore through Crossgates Apartments on Stark Road and destroyed three buildings, damaged four others and displaced more than 50 Mississippi State students. Three firefighters received minor injuries.
The Crossgates fire was believed to have been started accidentally by someone who flicked a cigarette into a gardening bed of pine straw. The straw ignited and caught the building on fire.
The most high profile fire in Starkville”s recent history took place Dec. 28, 2009, at Academy Crossing Apartments. There, three women and six children were trapped by smoke and flames in one apartment while neighbors attempted to save them. All nine perished.
The Starkville Fire Department held a community safety forum weeks after the Academy Crossing fire and will hold another tonight at the Starkville Sportsplex. The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Hayward “Bo” Phillips Building, located next to the multipurpose building.
Starkville Fire Marshal Stein McMullen said the forum will allow firefighters to give safety tips to those in attendance, stress the importance of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and hand out safety checklists, among other things.
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