Investigators rule cause of fire 'undetermined'
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Posted 9:03AM on Friday, April 12, 2002
GOOD HOPE - A fire at an historic building in Walton County has been ruled as undetermined, investigators said. <br>
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Authorities deemed the fire at the Casulon Plantation ``suspicious'' shortly after the building burned to the ground two weeks ago. <br>
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Col. Jimmy Lomax, with the Walton County Sheriff's Department, said it's possible the fire could have resulted from an electrical malfunction but there's no way to prove that. <br>
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``We couldn't swear this took place, but we could find nothing to prove that someone set the fire,'' he said. ``Anytime something happens in a deserted area, with a historical structure, it's kind of suspicious.'' <br>
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Steve Akery, battalion chief for the Walton County Fire Department, said he believes the fire was not intentionally set. <br>
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``It had all the appearances of being an accidental,'' he said. ``There was a tremendous amount of wiring, that was probably added onto over the years.''