Police hit roadblock in fire investigation
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on August 16, 2004 2:03 PM
How a fire critically injured a woman and damaged her home last week in Goldsboro remains a mystery to investigators.
The victim, Cara Mason, remained hospitalized at the Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. The fire occurred before dawn Tuesday at 512 Third St.
Police Chief Tim Bell said today that police investigators and State Bureau of Investigation special agents have ruled out an electrical or mechanical malfunction or an act of God as the cause of the fire.
"We're thinking now that is was caused by human hands," Bell said. "But we don't know if we can ever say what caused it. It could have been an accident or something else."
The investigators have not been able to talk with Ms. Mason, who is being treated for second- and third-degree burns over 70 percent of her body. Ms. Mason is on life support, police said.