A malfunction inside a breaker panel was to blame for a barn fire last week near Sarsfield in the rural east end of the city, investigators say.

Ottawa Fire Services, after consulting with the Ontario Electrical Safety Authority, determined a "catastrophic failure" inside the main breaker panel that supplied electricity to the Canaan Rd. barn was the cause of the blaze.

An inspector with the Ontario Electrical Safety Authority said the fire, which caused $1-million in damages, was not preventable.

A large cow barn was destroyed and 70 head of cattle were killed on the property of Henri Joly, whose family has owned the farm for more than 100 years, according to family members and friends.

Crews were able to save several silos, some other farm buildings, a dairy milking operation and about 50 dairy cattle.

A second blaze, which happened Monday afternoon, gutted a nearby barn, said Ottawa fire service spokesman Marc Messier.

Several fire stations in the region were called out, and began arriving on the scene in the area of 3200 Sarsfield Rd. just before 2 p.m. It was the second blaze in the area in just five days.

By the time crews arrived at the scene, much of the structure had already been razed but no injuries were reported.