The phrase 'cause undetermined' in a fire investigation means?

• A. It indicates that the investigation did not yield a definitive cause for the fire.
• B. The fire was intentionally set.
• C. The cause is definitely electrical.
• D. The fire was accidental due to heat source.

Answer: (A)

The phrase indicates that investigators could not establish a single definite cause for the fire because the available evidence was insufficient, damaged, or too ambiguous to point to one clear origin or trigger. It’s a status that reflects uncertainty in the investigation, not a conclusion about what actually happened.

This doesn’t mean the fire was intentional, electrical, or accidental by a known heat source. Those are specific conclusions; when the cause is undetermined, no definitive determination about arson, electrical fault, or accidental ignition is made, due to lack of enough evidence to support any one of those causes.