OFFICIALS: FIRE ALARM SWITCH IN FATAL BLAZE WAS OFF

PATTON -- A fire alarm switch had been turned off prior to a Dec. 17 fire in a Patton home for mentally handicapped people that claimed the life of one of its residents.

"We're still looking into why the fire alarm didn't function," State Fire Marshall Butch Amann said Monday.

Last week, officials ruled the fire had been deliberately set. But they ruled out arson, and said whoever started the fire didn't intend to harm someone.

But on Monday, Amman confirmed that the fire might have been set by a resident who feared another resident's return to the home.

"We have received some information to that effect," Amman said.

The victim, David Wilder, 58, of Patton died of smoke inhalation. He was one of 17 residents of the home. The other residents escaped without injury.

Fire officials and police now are questioning those residents, Amman said.

According to police, one of the residents of the home had an argument with Wilder the week before the fire. During the dispute, the other resident became violent and was removed from the home to be evaluated by state mental health officials. The resident was scheduled to be returned to the home the day after the fire.

Officials determined last week's fire was set in the resident's room near the east end of the building.

"We know there was an altercation between this person and the victim," Amman said.

He refused to elaborate on possible motives, but said he believes that the fire was the work of only one resident. He said none of the facility's staff members are suspected of any involvement.

The one-story brick, ranch-style home is situated along Highway 72 in Bollinger County, about three miles west of the Highway 72-51 intersection near Patton. The privately-run facility is called Mary's Ranch.

The building was equipped with smoke detectors and a noise alarm system, but Amman said none of the residents reported hearing the alarm.

"The reports we've gotten from talking to people, nobody recalls hearing an alarm," he said.

The home had passed a fire and safety inspection by the Missouri Division of Aging in August.

Wilder's body was found lying on a bed in his room near the middle of the facility's residential wing. He had lived in Southeast Missouri for nine years and worked at the Sheltered Workshop near Marble Hill.

Amman said that because the residents are mentally handicapped, it's unlikely criminal charges will be filed in the case. "With these type of individuals, proving there was criminal intent is difficult," he said.

The fire broke out at about 9 p.m., and firefighters brought the blaze under control in about an hour. Investigators aren't certain what type of materials were used to ignite the blaze.

Actual fire damage was confined to one room, with extensive heat and smoke damage to the rest of the home's residential wing. Amman said the investigation is continuing.