Cause of Fire at F&CS 'Undetermined'

The cause of a fire that ended with at the Family & Community Services building is unclear, according to the Kent Police investigation.

Kent Police Lt. James Prusha said arson investigators ruled the cause of the September fire on Gougler Avenue to be officially undetermined.

"But it looks like a couch was the start of it," Prusha said.

Firefighters were called to the building just before 6 a.m. on Sept. 12 and found the northern wing engulfed in flames.

The fire temporarily shut down the social service agency, which provides mental health and substance abuse clinical counseling services to its clients.

Investigators sent some samples from the fire scene to the Ohio Fire Marshal's Office for testing.

Prusha said the state fire marshal found no traces of accelerant liquids, so gasoline or another combustible material was ruled out as the cause.

And a certified electrician found that there was no faulty electrical element that might have contributed to the fire's start.

"We can't rule out that something burning wasn't thrown onto the couch through the mail slot, or that the window was broken and something thrown on the couch," Prusha said. "But there's no direct evidence of that."