UPDATE: Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman, Jr. has announced the identity of the man who died in a house fire early this morning in Rayne Township.
In a news release, Overman said that 76-year-old John Eugene Wetzel of Marion Center perished in the fire that was reported at 1:06 AM. Overman said that Wetzel died accidentally due to thermal burns and inhalation of combustible substances. The report states that firefighters found Wetzel in the burned out structure. Fire marshals are still investigating the cause of the fire.
WHAT WE FIRST REPORTED
State police have confirmed that one person has died in a fire this morning in Rayne Township.
Marion Center, Plumville, Creekside, Clymer and Indiana Fire Departments and the RIG team were initially dispatched at 1:13 AM to the house fire near the intersection of Skyline Drive and Washington Road. The structure was a single-story family home that was fully involved by the time crews got there. Marion Center fire officials say that it was too dangerous a situation to go in and fight the fire from inside, so they had to switch to defensive tactics. Crews were on the scene for about five hours to put the fire out.
The name of the victim has not been released as of yet. State police fire marshals and members of the PSP crime lab unit were called out to investigate the cause of the fire. Also assisting on-scene was Citizen’s Ambulance.
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