Cause of South Royalton fire ‘undetermined’

Published: 04-04-2024 4:46 PM

SOUTH ROYALTON — Vermont state fire investigators are unable to determine what caused the fire that burned down a home on Broad Brook Road in South Royalton on early Saturday morning. Nonetheless they said they do not consider it the result of “direct human involvement.”

The home was already fully engulfed and the structure on the verge of collapse when area fire departments arrived at the scene after the owner reported he had discovered a fire in the home’s utility room at around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Investigators from the state’s Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit have concluded that “due to the extent of the fire damage only an area of origin” — near the utility room at the home’s south side — “could be determined,” Vermont State Police said.

The cause of the fire “will remain undetermined but is not considered to be the result of direct human involvement,” police said.

The occupants of the residence at the time the fire was discovered, Evan Burnham and Erica Brinkman, were able to get out of the house unharmed and are being provided temporary shelter by the Red Cross at a White River Junction hotel.

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