Published: January 10, 2007 11:17 pm      

No sign of criminal activity

Officials waiting for positive ID of man killed in house fire

FAIRMONT — While they’re still waiting for positive identification of a man killed in a house fire Tuesday evening, Fairmont fire and police officials said they don’t believe the fire was part of a criminal act.

“There’s no overt sign of criminal activity at this point, but the investigation is continuing,” said Police Chief Steve Cain.

Fire Chief Gregg Freme said investigators are working to eliminate possible causes of the fire while they await confirmation from the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Charleston as to the victim’s identity.

Officials are holding off on identifying him because he was so badly burned, Chief Freme said. Dental charts, X-rays and other means will be used by the medical examiner to identify the man, he said.

Firefighters who rushed into the burning one-story house at 208 Fitzgerald Ave. Extended found him dead in a living room chair. The victim was close to the area where firefighters believe the blaze may have started, Freme added.

Police and city firefighters, aided by an accelerant-sniffing dog from the State Fire Marshal’s Office, spent Wednesday going through the destroyed house.

Residents in the community near Windmill Park said they heard a popping noise and then saw the house burst into flames.

Lisa Yeager, 28, of 906 Lewis St., the woman who made the first call to the county’s 911 center at about 6:52 p.m., said she ran down to the home to see if anyone was inside.

“He never answered, and I never heard anything,” she said Tuesday as she watched city firefighters put out the fire.

It’s not unusual for windows to “pop” as the heat from a fire breaks them, the fire chief said.

“And when the windows go out, oxygen rushes in to the already extremely hot interior, and it just erupts in flames,” he said.

Neighbors said the victim was a handyman. He was friendly and always willing to help them with their home repairs, they said.

Vivian Parker of 200 Fitzgerald Ave. said he recently helped her put new locks on her doors. Others talked about how he had helped them with plumbing problems or other projects.

E-mail Bill Byrd at bbyrd@timeswv.com.