The origin of the fire which destroyed the Parkland School District garage and the 16 buses inside on Feb. 23 remains undetermined.

Director of School Services David Keppel, told The Press, local and state fire inspectors, the insurance carrier and officials from Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene the afternoon of the incident and gave a report to the district.

“They ruled out arson,” Keppel said. “It was an accidental fire.”

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rod Troutman also commented on the matter.

“None could find the origin but it was nothing suspicious,” Troutman said. “It started inside but they don’t know exactly where.

“They couldn’t find what it was. They’re not going to speculate.”

As the inspection ended, the site was turned over to the school district for remediation.

“It’s a three-week process underway now,” Keppel said.

He explained a demolition bucket with a jaw takes the buses apart and lifts them into a Dumpster to be hauled away by a large truck.

Insurance will cover the cost of the removal, which is being done by the Alvin H. Butz Company.

Keppel stated the district is unsure what type of structure will be erected on the site.

“We still need the value of the building and the concrete slab from the insurance company,” Keppel said. “Then we can design a new one after we have the amount we’re working with.”

Troutman reported the district is working on the process of ordering buses to replace the ones which were destroyed.

He said they might look for some that are slightly used as well as new ones to avoid having 16 buses all wear out at the same time in the future.

The fire, which occurred on a Friday, also damaged 14 buses which were repaired by district employees over that weekend and were ready for use on the next Monday morning.

The insurance claim is expected to be about $2 million.