Sparks landing on dust just hours after crews stopped cutting metal piping during demolition of a building started a fire that burned nearly half a mile of a former factory, according to the Henry County fire marshal.
Fire Marshal Rodney Howell ruled the fire accidental and concluded the investigation Tuesday.
Howell says crews were removing metal pipes in a partially demolished building just hours before flames were spotted shooting from the same spot.
He says the investigation slowed last week when people reported seeing a man near the building when the fire started.
On March 29, firefighters battled the second massive fire in less than six months in the small town of Bassett.
The fire destroyed the demolished plant, part of a former table factory nearby and started a brush fire.
