TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The cause of a deadly fire that occurred at the Social Seminole apartment complex in November “cannot be determined,” according to a case report from the Department of Financial Services Criminal Investigations Division.
The massive fire at the off-campus student housing on November 19 claimed the life of a Florida State University student, left one building severely damaged, several people injured and displaced more than 70 others.
The Social Seminole, an off-campus student apartment complex located on Ocala Road, was “fully engulfed” in flames, drawing a large emergency response including fire, police and EMS.(Must credit WCTV)
In a 37-page report from the division obtained by WCTV Thursday morning, it revealed that “due to the degree of fire damage and destruction of physical evidence within the area of greatest fire involvement, a specific point of origin could not be identified.”
Furthermore, “due to the lack of sufficient physical evidence, none of the identified ignition hypotheses could be either confirmed or eliminated to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty,” the report wrote.
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The document went on to say that fire debris samples were not collected because the suspected origin area and nearby locations were inaccessible and deemed unsafe for examination.
An Ignitable Liquid Detection Canine (IGLK9) examination was also not conducted due to the unsafe structural conditions at the time of the investigation, per the report.
“Based on the data collected, the analysis performed, and the application of the scientific method, the cause of the fire cannot be determined. The fire is properly classified as Undetermined.”
As a result, “all potential investigative leads have been exhausted,” according to the document.
The report went on to list several factors that were ruled out as the source of the fire, including both electrical and gas meters, as well as weather and lightning.
It was also noted in the document that the valet trash, which contained some smoking materials found later in the area, had not been picked up for about a week and had started to accumulate in the breezeways.
This is a breaking update. This story will continue to be updated as we learn more.
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