Fire Marshal Investigation into structure fire delayed

This article comes from our media partners at Connect Bridgeport.

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - Bridgeport Fire Chief Phil Hart said there is a reason that the West Virginia State Fire Marshals Office has not ruled on the cause or origin of the fire that occurred at Barrington Court Townhouse Unit on Nov. 11.

WDTV 5 Published an article detailing emergency crews’ response to the fire here.

Hart said the reason for that was not unique. It was due to a substantial workload by the fire marshal’s office.

“I believe Monday he had three other fires to investigate, but stopped to gather some information on the fire, look at the interior, and gather information from the insurance company involved with the unit,” said Hart.

Typically, Hart said the investigations are done by now. A report is then forwarded to officials as needed shortly thereafter.

Hart goes on to say that with the holidays coming up, it is likely that the State Fire Marshall’s Office will be even more understaffed, however he is still hoping to have the report next week.

Hart said the scene of the blaze is secure. He said the fire marshal will need to get consent before going into the structure. He added getting consent is almost never an issue, but it’s standard protocol.

“Many times we do the investigation, but due to the high volume of fire when the department arrived, it was hard to pinpoint the cause and the exact place of origin,” said Hart. “We have a general idea of origin on the deck, or at least it appears that way. That’s something they’ll look at and determine.”

There is a GoFundMe set up to assist the family. According to the page, nearly everything inside was damaged or lost to the fire. Click here to assist.

Copyright 2023 WDTV. All rights reserved.