WHEELING, W.Va. — The fire that destroyed the former West Virginia State Fair Exhibition Hall on Wheeling Island has been ruled accidental.
The Wheeling Fire Department announced its Bureau of Fire Investigations has preliminarily determined the New Year’s Eve fire findings on Tuesday.
Investigators believe the fire started on the southern end of the building, which was being used for storage, from an electrical issue.
Authorities further said video surveillance inside shows electrical arcing before the first 911 call was made around 6:10 p.m.
The building is a total loss and no one was hurt following the second-alarm fire.
The hall was built in 1924 and Wheeling Fire Chief Larry Helms said it was about 110 feet wide and 300 feet long. Helms called the fire to the building one of the largest fires the city has seen in decades.