Authorities had first thought one or two people were left inside a vacant home after a East Wheeling fire. However, according to Wheeling fire chief Larry Helms, those people have now been accounted for.

He said the fire destroyed two homes. One home was occupied, and the family made it out safely. The other home was vacant, but was known as a place where squatters stayed.

Because they were homeless, it was more difficult to locate the missing people, Helms said.

"The police officers, they know these folks by sight, so they were able to identify a couple of them right away, and then through those contacts and interviews with those folks, we've been able to address the others," Helms said.

While that part of the investigation is over, Helms said they are still working to determine the cause of the fire.

"For one thing there's no utilities to the home where the fire started, so that leads us to believe it could be accidental, but right now it's suspicious because we don't know what the actual cause was," Helms said.

He said investigators will work with a contractor, because the structure is not safe for anyone to go inside without debris being cleared first.