State Police: Destruction “Too Great” to Determine Cause of Fire That Killed Amish Family of 7

Nearly three months after the April fire that killed an Amish mother and her six children in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, state police say they cannot determine what caused it.

The reason: too much destruction to work with. From the report at PennLive:

The cause of the fire in Clinton County that killed an Amish mother and her six children three months ago could not be determined because the destruction was too great, state police say.

Investigators said at the time of the April 19 fire that a propane leak inside the house was the suspected cause. Outside propane tanks did not explode or contribute to the blaze, they said.

So the propane leak inside the home remains a theory, but not a confirmed finding. Investigators said at the time of the fire that the exterior propane tanks did not explode and were not a contributing factor.

A Recap

At approximately 8:30 AM on Sunday, April 19, emergency crews were called to an Amish residence in Lamar Township, near Mill Hall. Neighbors reported hearing an explosion. By the time fire companies arrived, the home was already fully engulfed. All seven occupants were trapped inside, and all seven died.

The victims were mother Sarah B. Stoltzfus, 34, and her children: Andrew, 11; Benji, 10; Susie, 8; Barbie, 6; Michael, 5; and James, 2.

Husband and father David Stoltzfus was not at home, at the time attending a church meeting less than a mile away. He arrived to find the home fully consumed. Keep him in your prayers.

The home was in the Loganton and Sugar Valley Amish settlement, one of Clinton County’s two Amish communities. It’s a settlement of well over 1,400 people, founded in the early 1970s.

I covered the initial reports on the fire here, and the funeral, along with news of the father’s absence during the fire, here. I’d think this week’s update is the last official word we will get on the cause.