POLAND – The State Fire Marshal’s Office has concluded that an item found in a fatal house fire in March was not a pipe bomb, as suspected during the preliminary investigation.

According to Senior Fire Investigator Dan Roy, the State Police Bomb Squad detonated the item after police suspected it may have been a pipe bomb. Examined after the fact, Roy said Wednesday, his office determined the item was a container made of PVC pipe and was being used to store 2- and 3-inch screws. It was not a pipe bomb.

Michael Deschenes, 42, died in the fire on Old Tiger Road on March 18.

Roy said the cause of the fire remains undetermined because of the extent of the damage to the home.