Nine months ago in Wells, a fire killed four people in a group home for the disabled. Today, the families and friends of Cory Desotelle, 32, Gloria Bonilla, 43, Theresa Williams, 59, and Anthony Vitti, 52, are still waiting to find out how it happened.

The fire victims lived with five others in the group home, operated by the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. The building, which was less than a year old, was destroyed in the blaze and has now been taken down and removed. Grass covers the site.

In June, the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control issued a report saying the fire was caused by "human action." The report also said fire-drill records at the group home had been falsified, the fire system was not up to code and two employees at the scene tried to evacuate residents via the main exit instead of from a closer exit on the side of the building.

But since that report, the public has been told nothing more about the cause of the fire or whether someone was responsible for it. Did staff members put the residents in grave danger? Did someone commit a crime?

To the public, and to the victims' loved ones, it's all still a mystery.

State police say they're waiting for the completion of a Hamilton County grand jury investigation into the fire. Until then, police say they won't release a cause-and-origin report on the fire.

We know a grand jury investigation can take time, but it's important neither the fire nor the deaths of four local citizens fade from the public's consciousness. At some point, people should demand answers. This case must not end without authorities providing an explanation. If the state bears responsibility for negligence, the public needs to know about it, not merely to assign blame, but to ensure measures are taken to prevent a similar tragedy in the future.

We urge the state police, the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control and the OMRDD to give the public a detailed explanation for the early morning blaze that extinguished four lives.