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Authorities Are Investigating Fatal Fire

Cape Girardeau Fire Department
/
City of Cape Girardeau

The Missouri State Fire Marshal's office has taken over the investigation of the fire that took the life of a Cape Girardeau man.

James Stuart Weber was pronounced dead around 5:45 p.m., Monday. His parents found him in their garage after returning to their house on Big Bend Road. When Weber was unresponsive, they called 911 to provide medical attention, according to firefighter Andrew Juden.

It wasn’t until firefighters were on the scene that they discovered evidence of a fire.

Juden estimates the fire occurred approximately 12 hours before the fire department was called. It burned out before their arrival and there was no smoke.

“There’s no real good determining cause of the fire at this point,” Juden said.

He said it is unclear how or when the fire began, but it was incendiary in nature.

“There was no--what we would consider accidental causes,” Juden said. “Which again would be electrical shorts--things of that nature in the area of the point of origin where the fire was.”

According to Juden, the investigation is in the early stages. They have collected samples and sent them to the lab to be tested.

He said the fire department will have a better understanding of this case and the timeline once the lab and autopsy results come back.

Jessica Penland was an intern reporter for KRCU in 2014.