Community Corner

Blair Mill Fire Cause Ruled 'Undetermined'

The Horsham Township Fire Marshal said he had 'no indication' that Sunday's three-alarm fire was intentionally set.

While some have speculated that a lit cigarette or combustible mulch may have started Sunday's three-alarm fire which reduced the Blair Mill Professional Center to rubble, the fire marshal said the cause has been ruled "undetermined."

Horsham Township Fire Marshal George Fida told Patch Wednesday night that his investigation, which has concluded, identified a mulch bed near the former Blair Mill Apartments leasing office/professional offices as the spot where the fire started. From there, it spread to bushes and shrubbery before setting the seven-unit space ablaze Sunday afternoon.

Wind fed the flames, Horsham Fire Co. Chief Tim Flanagan said previously. Besides his department, 16 other fire crews from Bucks and Montgomery counties assisted in extinguishing the fire, which burned for nearly two hours before being brought under control. 

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"I can't identify the specific source of ignition," Fida said, adding that there was "no indication of foul play."

Fida conducted extensive interviews with the building's occupants and while, he is not sure what or how the fire started, arson is not believed to be the cause.

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"There is absolutely no indication that it was a set fire," Fida said. 


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