Probe in Fire That Destroyed $4M Ohio Mansion Still Underway

The multiagency investigation of a fire that destroyed a $4 million southwest Ohio mansion last month is still working on finding a cause.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the state fire marshal’s office says it’s not unusual that the cause remains undetermined more than a month later, especially given the large size of the structure.

“We have plenty of cases that last this long,” said Michael Duchesne, spokesman for the Ohio state fire marshal. “And given the amount of area involved here, it’s only common sense that it would take some time.”

The Jan. 10 fire in the upscale Cincinnati area community of Indian Hill swept a 10,000-square-foot home with some 2 rooms on five acres. No one was at home during the fire, and it was engulfed by the time firefighters responding to emergency calls got there. It took seven hours to extinguish the blaze.

Pictures of the fire taken by an Enquirer gained nationwide attention for their eerie appearance and the immense size of the mansion..

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators are working with state and local fire officials.

A fire expert said that’s not unusual for such a high-dollar fire, adding that the extensive damage has probably made investigators’ task tougher.

“It might be that there is so much destruction that you might not have an area of origin to even look at,” said Michael Slifka, a Wisconsin-based fire inspection and code consultant. “That’s the thing about fires -39 they tend to destroy and burn a lot of the evidence that will show you what caused it in the first place.”

The Decker family that owned the home hasn’t commented on the fire.