Chief: Marina fire cause will remain unknown

MEREDITH — The cause of the fire that destroyed a building and several boats at Meredith Marina cannot be pinpointed, the fire chief has concluded.

“We cannot commit to a specific cause,’ Fire Chief Ken Jones said Monday, “which means we cannot rule out other possibilities officially.”

The chief did go on to say, however, that the fire is not suspicious.

“We’re looking at an accidental fire,” he said.

The two-alarm fire on Jan, 28 destroyed a 50-by-70 foot building used to service boats, and in addition destroyed six boats and seriously damaged three or four others.

Jones has estimated the damage at between $800,000 and $1 million.

The chief said the cause cannot be determined because the intense fire virtually incinerated everything inside the building, and so destroyed the clues which provide the critical data investigators rely on to specify a cause.

Two or three explosions occurred during the height of the blaze, intensifying the fire. Combustible substances such as propane, acetylene, and various petroleum products were inside the building, Jones said.

The fire investigation was conducted jointly by Jones and an investigator from the state Fire Marshal’s Office.