Man dies from fast-moving fire at home on Columbus' Southeast Side
A man died early Thursday in a house fire on Columbus’ Southeast Side after intense flames spread so quickly they hampered rescue efforts, the Columbus Division of Fire reported.
Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter said Columbus firefighters responded at about 4 a.m. to the scene of the fire on the 3400 block of Marlin Drive and began searching the house’s rooms and fighting the blaze. However, Geitter said the fire spread so quickly that firefighters could not access every room and were ultimately forced to retreat and continue fighting the fire from outside the building.
Geitter said firefighters knew a man was unaccounted for, but the intensity of the fire and the speed at which it spread made rescue efforts difficult. Parts of the structure also collapsed, making it hard for firefighters to locate the man’s body even after the fire had been put out.
“We were met with significant fire when we got there,” Geitter said. “From the start, we were really trying to get in there and get to (him) but tragically, they passed away.”
The man's body was eventually found on the first floor and he was officially pronounced dead at the scene at about 5:30 a.m., Geitter said. He was the only person in the home at the time of the fire.
The name of the man killed in the fire has not been released because the Franklin County Coroner is still working to positively confirm his identity, Geitter said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus house fire leaves one dead on Southeast Side
