The early morning Christmas Eve fire at 28 Woodworth Rd.in Needham that took the life of 21-year-old Kayla Corrigan has been ruled accidental and is believed to have started in the home’s attached garage.
The state Department of Fire Services this week released the results of their investigation into the cause of the fire. A statement said officials “believe the fire began in the rightmost of three bays inside the attached garage … From witness interviews, they learned that power tools, ignitable liquids, and other items were stored in this area. They located the remains of lithium-ion batteries and an electrical outlet with a power strip nearby.”
The investigation was conducted by the Needham Fire and Police Departments along with the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office as well as State Police assigned to the Norfolk DA’s office. Investigators said they found no evidence of an intentionally-set fire and have classified the cause as “undetermined” because there were “multiple possible ignition sources, all of which were clearly accidental.”
Kayla Corrigan was a senior at Syracuse University studying marketing management. Her mother Christa Corrigan and sister Alyssa survived the fire.
Demolition work is now underway at the home by Jay Derenzo of J. Derenzo Properties who said he is under contract to rebuild it for the owner.
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