JAY – A fire that heavily damaged the home of Dan and Jeannie Finley on Thursday started in a wall partition on the first floor, a state fire investigator said Monday.

The partition is between the bedroom, kitchen and cellar stairs, state investigator Chris Stanford said.

The cause of the fire was difficult to determine, he said, because he was unable to rule out a malfunction of an electrical wire. Stanford added that he will officially list the cause as undetermined, but it appears there was a malfunction of the wire.

The Finleys, who were out of town Thursday, returned that day to find firefighters at their home. The house was heavily damaged by fire for the second time since 1994.