The fatal Erie daycare fire that claimed the lives of five children was ruled an accident.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Philadelphia Field Division, the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Erie Police and Fire Departments investigated the fire and announced its conclusion on Thursday.
The fire happened in the early morning of Aug. 11. Firefighters responded to a fully involved structure fire with people trapped inside.
Fire crews were able to get in and retrieve five victims, all children under the age of 10. However, the fire had killed them.
Officials say their investigation leads them to have the collective opinion that the fire was an accident.
In a report, they say, “Based upon data collected during this investigation and the subsequent analysis of that data, it is the combined opinion of the fire scene investigation team that the fire was caused by an electrical failure associated with a routinely-used extension cord.”