The fire on July 26 destroyed the Equine Reproduction Laboratory at Colorado State University. No one was hurt in the fire, one of the most damaging and costly disasters in university history.
On Monday, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said there is not enough evidence to officially declare the fire an accident.
"It's going to be ruled undermined, with no indication of it being incendiary," said ATF spokesman Brad Beyersdorf. "There just isn't quite enough evidence to rule it accidental."
CSU is preparing to rebuild the lab, where scientists and students studied, among other things, why the viability of a mare's eggs diminish with age. That research could help address age-related infertility in horses and humans, scientists said.
CSU has budgeted about $2.5 million for the new lab building, which researchers hope will be up and running for the 2013 breeding season. In addition to pure research, lab workers also artificially inseminate mares for clients.
Workers have brought in portable laboratory space for the interim, said Colin Clay, head of CSU's Department of Biomedical Sciences.
Clay helped design the new facility, which will be about 70 percent larger than the original lab.
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