Finding Bullhead City fire cause could take months

It could be months before a cause is determined for the house fire in Bullhead City that killed five children on Dec. 16.

Children ages 2, 4, 5, 11 and 14 died after a fire engulfed a two-story duplex Saturday evening. The fire started in the foyer before traveling up the staircase and destroying the home, an initial fire investigation found. Four of the children were siblings and the fifth was a relative, according to Emily Fromelt, a Bullhead City Police Department spokesperson. They were found in an upstairs bedroom.

The siblings’ father told investigators he left the home for grocery and Christmas shopping.

The investigation was taken over from Bullhead City Fire Department after it was found that the grandfather of the four children is a Bullhead City fire employee. The investigation was being handled by Lake Havasu Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ATF detectives took house fire debris earlier this week for analysis. The results will help determine the cause of the fire, but the analysis “could take months,” Fromelt said.

Until the analysis is complete, Bullhead City Police’s investigation was paused. The Lake Havasu and ATF investigations, however, were ongoing and the agencies were “making this a priority,” Fromelt said.

Detectives were “not look at anything criminal,” although nothing was “officially” being ruled out yet, she said.

There was a smoke alarm in the home, but it was unknown if the alarm worked, Fromelt said.

Bullhead City has since condemned the property as unlivable, and the owner was notified. It ws unclear what will happen next to the ruined home.

On Wednesday, members of the small 40,000-person community gathered to remember the children and try to come to grips with a tragedy that engulfed the city.