Cause of Ashland Building Fire Undetermined

By Steven Sandberg

ASHLAND, Ore. — Fire investigators say an explosion that destroyed an Ashland business last week caused a million dollars in damages, but they have not been able to determine what started the fire.

Officials with Ashland Fire say they have finished their investigation of the explosion and fire at Alchemical Solutions. They say they are unsure about whether the alcohol distilling process inside the unit caused the explosion. They say private investigators from insurance companies will continue to search for a cause.

“The insurance companies actually have private fire investigators working on this fire and they may come up with an actual cause, because they’re able to take the investigation a little further than what we will,” explains Ashland Fire spokeswoman, Margueritte Hickman.

Ashland Fire says the burned unit is a complete loss. Alchemical’s owner has said he does not know where he will move his operations.