Deadly Cleveland fire ruled arson
Investigators find accelerant in blaze that killed 9
(CNN) -- Convinced that details didn't add up, investigators determined that a house fire in Cleveland, Ohio, that killed nine people, including eight children, was set intentionally, the city's mayor said Wednesday.
Mayor Jane Campbell said investigators initially believed the May 21 blaze was accidental, but she said their persistence led to the discovery of an accelerant.
"Our firefighters and this investigative unit just never would take the easy answer," Campbell said. "Something didn't add up. So they kept at it and kept at it."
Cleveland Fire Chief Paul Stubbs declined to comment on what type of accelerant was found or where it was, but he said aspects of the case failed to make sense from the beginning.
"The thing that struck me the most, and struck the investigators the most, is we had young, able-bodied people who we believe had the early warning notice of a smoke detector, and yet they were unable to self-evacuate," Stubbs said.
The early-morning fire broke out while several children were sleeping over at the house. Two people escaped from the two-story home: a woman who was critically burned and a man who was uninjured.
Campbell said the Cleveland Police Department would join the investigation once the coroner has reviewed the case and determined whether the deaths were homicides.
Stubbs said investigators would be re-interviewing people with whom they already had talked.
"We are doing interviews with anybody we feel like has information in this incident," he said.
Campbell said she had spoken with surviving members of the families affected and they told her that "they had had some suspicions that something was wrong."
"But they also said they were so sorry that it was intentional and said they couldn't imagine what would compel someone to do this, especially to children," she said.
"This has been a terrible tragedy for this community, but this has been a time where the Cleveland community has shown itself at its best."
