WHEATON, Mo. — Witnesses told investigators that they heard more than one smoke detector or fire alarm during a Thanksgiving Day fire that killed five people in Wheaton.
And while the investigators found no evidence that the fire at the Blue Ridge Apartments was set intentionally, they also found no clear evidence of what might have started the blaze. The origin of the fired was ruled “undetermined.”
The Barry County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri Division of Fire Safety released a joint statement Friday afternoon on their investigation.
Neither Sheriff Mick Epperly nor lead investigator Doug Henry with the Barry County Sheriff’s Department could be reached for comment late Friday, but their statement said the finding is subject to change if new information comes to light.
Investigators said the fire started at 3:23 a.m. on Nov. 22 on the southwest side of the building at 300 S. Hill St. According to the report, the fire started on the second floor, but because of extensive damage the investigators could not pinpoint the specific cause.
“Investigators were not able to eliminate the possibility of an electrical malfunction in the second-floor apartment,” according to the statement.
Mike O’Connell, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, also did not return calls Friday.
The fire claimed the lives of Jonathan “Jay” Gemmecke, 32, and Molly Doherty, 54, who were in the apartment where the fire originated.
It also claimed the lives of Mary Henning, 43; Brandon Thurston, 8; and Corey Hasche, 23, who were in an apartment on the second floor on the northeast corner of the building.
All five victims died of smoke inhalation, according to the Barry County coroner’s office.
Sixteen other occupants of the building where the deaths occurred were able to escape without physical injury. A companion building at the complex was evacuated, but it was not impacted directly by the fire. THE BLUE RIDGE APARTMENTS in Wheaton are managed by Bell Management, of Joplin, which also manages 3,700 apartments in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Rick Schroeder, president of Bell Management, has declined comment.
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