The Missouri Division of Fire Safety concluded in December of last year that the cause of the fire remained undetermined. But the report noted that it most likely began in the attic on the north end of the home and that an electrical short circuit in that area could not be eliminated as a possible cause.
A maintenance man employed by the home who was working on its furnaces the day of the fire told investigators that he deliberately short-circuited an electrical line that ran through the attic just hours before the fire.
He reportedly shorted the wiring because he did not know which switch in a breaker box controlled one of the furnaces he was repairing and wanted to switch that breaker off.
