CHARLESTON FIRE RULED AN ACCIDENT

CHARLESTON -- A fire that destroyed the Charleston Junior High School has been ruled accidental.

An investigator with the state Fire Marshall's Office said Tuesday that while no exact cause for the May 25 fire has been determined, the fire was not set purposely.

"We didn't find anything suspicious of any kind," said James Amman, the investigator. "Because of the amount of damage, it's hard to put your finger on the exact cause."

Amman said some problems were detected in the 66-year-old building's heating unit, its circuit boxes and the aged wiring. Any one of those factors could have been responsible for igniting the flames, he said.

Amman said the main reason investigators ruled out anything suspicious is because the flames originated high and in the center of the building.

"All the doors were locked and several witnesses said they had seen no one in the area at the time of the fire," he said. "As far as an exact cause, I don't have one."

The fire was spotted at about 10:20 a.m. on the day after classes ended for the school year. No one was injured in the blaze, which caused about $500,000 in damage.

As a result of the fire, school officials canceled a planned vote to raise the district's tax levy, a move that would have raised $4.9 million for a middle school and improvements to other buildings.