Kentucky Strip Mall Fire Deemed Arson

A fire chief says a blaze that destroyed a strip mall in central Kentucky was arson.

Meade County Fire Chief Larry Naser said investigators have ruled out electrical and mechanical causes and spontaneous combustion.

Naser told The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown that “someone started a fire” in the U.S. Tobacco Outlet. He said investigators are still trying to determine what was used to light the blaze that consumed the shopping center in Brandenburg.

Naser said the July 2 fire was the largest in the county in a decade. He said the damage estimate is at least $3 million and about 55 people were left unemployed.

He said the state fire marshal’s office is offering a $1,000 cash reward for information that leads to an arrest.