Authorities Release Cause On 5X Fatal Fire

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The investigation continued Monday into what caused a deadly fire that claimed the lives of four children and one adult overnight Saturday.

NBC 4 has been following the story since it broke, and Tacoma Newsome had an update with the latest developments.

PREVIOUS STORY
Dec. 6: 4 Children, 1 Adult Killed In Overnight Fire

Fire officials ruled the West Side fire accidental over the weekend and think it might have started on the second floor. What they didn't know was how and why it started.

Fire officials were back at the scene of the Calli Court apartment fire Monday.

Cameras in hand, investigators were trying to figure out those why's and the how's.

Here's updated information from the official release: The fire originated in the living room near the electrical panel. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical; therefore it has been ruled accidental. Damage was estimated at $250,000. The smoke detector performance remains undetermined.

It's going to be a long, grueling process that will probably be continued throughout the week," CFD Battalion Chief Doug Smith said.

In the meantime, members of the division's safety team were visiting neighbors to make sure this tragedy doesn’t happen again.

Members went door-to-door and handed out educational materials, batteries and smoke alarms to residents while warning them about the dangers of not having a working detector.

A working detector might not have been present Saturday, Newsome said.

In the charred rubble of one of the next-door apartments, investigators saw one detector was on the floor without a battery, and in another room, there were only brackets where the smoke alarm once hung.

It was a sober reminder of how a simple solution could have prevented a tragedy.

"We can't stop people from pulling the batteries out. We can't stop them from taking them down. When you move in, you're supposed to have working smoke detectors, but then after that, it's your responsibility to maintain them," Smith said.

The coroner has released the names of the five fire victims Monday: They were Jolla Soledad, 41; Angelica Mejia, 7; Anthony Mejia, 5; Osvaldo Mejia, 10; and Hugo Ramirez, 12.

Hugo was a student at Finland Middle School, and the other children went to Imagine Academy, Newsome reported.

Stay tuned to NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for more information on this developing story.

To send a news tip or submit a story idea, e-mail .

MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video