Arson not suspected in Ala. fire that killed 4 Mississippi students; room lacked sprinklers

Arson not suspected in Alabama fire that killed 4

HOOVER, Ala. — Officials say they’ve found no evidence of arson in an Alabama motel fire that killed four Mississippi college students.

But Peter O’Connor with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Tuesday investigators are only halfway done combing through the scene and have yet to determine a cause.

The victims were students at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss. and were staying at a Days Inn motel in suburban Birmingham when the fire began Saturday night.

Hoover city fire inspector Richard Linn says authorities are trying to reconstruct the last 48 hours of the women’s lives.

Linn said they’re trying to find out who they might have seen and what they might have done before their deaths.

The room had smoke detectors but no sprinklers.