Fires ruled accidental

Two area fires last week have been ruled accidental.

Much of the Lakeview Watering Hole and Grill and living quarters for three families just outside Potosi were destroyed by fire Tuesday. Another fire on Thursday destroyed a home on Sixth Street in Park Hills.

Mike O’Connell, the Missouri Department of Public Safety spokesperson, said fire investigators with the state fire marshal’s office can not say for sure what caused the fires but the fires have been ruled  accidental.

He said there was an electrical panel in the area where the fire started at Lakeview Watering Hole and Grill. He said there were signs of an electrical malfunction. There were signs that wiring had shorted and arced in that area.

O’Connell said the probable cause of the house fire on Thursday was an unattended candle.

“But there was no conclusive evidence on either one of them,” he said.