Maryland Mansion Fire Poses Problems for Investigators
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iStock/Thinkstock(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — Federal investigators are getting their first up-close look Wednesday at the charred wreckage of a Maryland mansion, with six relatives still missing following a massive fire.
Tech executive Don Pyle, his wife Sandy and their four visiting grandchildren remain unaccounted for and are believed to have been inside the home when the fire broke out at 3:30 a.m. Monday, according to family and neighbors. The fire — which was reported by an alarm-monitoring company — may have raged, in part, because the $9 million mansion didn’t have fire sprinklers, which were not required when it was built.
There were no reports of previous trouble at the home, and no records of recent lawsuits or serious financial trouble, ABC News has learned. But agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it’s too early to rule out foul play.
“We are going to sift through pieces of evidence, every piece in there, room by room, so that’s going to take time,” said Bill McCullem, a special agent with ATF’s Baltimore Field Division.
ATF investigators said they could be working at the scene of the decimated mansion for weeks.
The massive house collapsed as it burned, and heavy pieces of debris will need to be moved, county fire officials said.
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