Auburn Adventist Academy fire started accidentally in control room, investigators said

AUBURN — An inferno in a dormitory at the Auburn Adventist Academy last week started accidentally in an electrical and mechanical control room, fire investigators said this morning.

Investigators have sent items from the basement control room to an electrical engineer to determine the precise cause.

The blaze at Nelson Hall at the private Christian school left 83 residents, most high-school girls, without housing, but no one was hurt. Damage was estimated at more than $3 million.

The 270-student school closed early for Thanksgiving holiday after the fire and administrators expected to have temporary housing set up when classes reconvene next week.