By AP/KWMU
Anderson, Mo. – Governor Matt Blunt says a fire that killed ten people and injured two dozen more at a southwest Missouri group home is being treated as a crime.
Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to figure out why a convicted felon was hired to run the ministry that operated the facility. Robert Dupont was convicted three years ago of conspiracy to commit fraud, for taking part in a scheme to bilk Medicare.
Investigators also want to know whether the fire was linked to another fire at the same facility two days earlier. And they're also looking at fire-code violations at a sister home three years ago.
Blunt stopped short of saying it was definitely a crime scene, but said it was a suspicious fire that gutted the Anderson Guest House in the McDonald County town of Anderson. The home houses the elderly and mentally ill.
The blaze was brought under control just before sunrise. It reduced the privately run home to a skeleton of cinder blocks.
Blunt said one of the dead was a worker in the home and the other nine were residents.
Eighteen people were taken to hospitals and six more were treated at the scene.
Assistant Fire Marshal Greg Carrell said the home had fire alarms but no sprinklers.
Investigators are trying to find a link between Monday's fire and a smaller blaze at the same facility early Saturday.
The home is operated by Joplin River of Life Ministries.
Little remains of the house, whose roof collapsed along with several walls in the aftermath of the fire. Neighbors report seeing a powerful, sudden fire engulf the building.
Visiting the scene Monday, Gov. Matt Blunt said, "We're not ruling out a criminal investigation." He added, "We're trying to determine if the fire was set by somebody with a nefarious motive."
Police say they don't have any suspects in the case.
With 32 people living in it, the facility's residents ranged in age from 18-74. Four of those who perished in the fire were among the home's older residents.
An Ozarks town, Anderson is in the southwest corner of Missouri, not far from Arkansas and Oklahoma.
NPR's Michele Norris spoke with reporter Frank Morris on Monday during All Things Considered.To hear that interview, click here.