Causes of 2 fires at Roanoke apartment building remain mystery

The causes of two fires that happened at the same Roanoke apartment building within 45 days remain unclear, an official said Tuesday.

Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said investigators still don’t know what sparked the blazes on May 18 and July 1 at the two-story building in the 1100 block of Chapman Avenue Southwest.

In May, officials had received reports that lightning might have started the fire. An official determination that weather was to blame was never made.

The apartment building was vacant in July and the utilities were shut off.

Bradbury said it’s not uncommon for fires to lack clear-cut causes.

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