By Staff 3-9,2016
Cheyenne Fire & Rescue investigators have classified the cause of a fatal house fire that took place at a single-family residence in the 3500 block of Amherst Road on Thursday, February 25 as “undetermined.”
“We were able to conclude the fire started on the ground level of the two-story addition which was attached to the back of the house,” said Byron Mathews, Fire Marshal for the City of Cheyenne. “However, we were unable to gather enough information to determine what the ignition source was and what materials were first ignited.”
The fire burned so hot that it destroyed much of the contents and materials we would normally use to determine how and exactly where the fire originated. Investigators did determine the house had working smoke alarms at the time of the fire, Mathews said.
Cheyenne firefighters were called to the single-family residence at 6:35 a.m. and arrived on scene at 6:41 a.m. When firefighters arrived on scene, there was heavy smoke and flames coming from the back of the residence. The house is a ranch-style structure in front with a two-story addition attached at the rear of the house. Firefighters had the fire under control at 7:02 a.m.
“We would like to thank the community that sent copies of their photos of the incident allowing us to further our investigation,” said Mathews.
The two-story section of the house sustained significant damage and there was moderate damage to the ranch-style portion of the house. There was smoke damage estimated throughout the house. After the investigation, the loss was recalculated at $288,554.
Cheyenne Fire & Rescue was assisted in the investigation by the Cheyenne Police Department. American Medical Response, Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities, Black Hills Energy, and the Cheyenne Street & Alley Department provided assistance.
