Authorities find body after mobile home fire
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Deputies from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and fire and EMS personnel from Evansville, Brooklyn and Stoughton survey damage to a mobile home near Evansville after fire ripped through the structure this morning. A body was found inside the mobile home, and authorities believe a wood stove might have triggered the blaze.
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EVANSVILLE — A wood stove might have triggered the fire in an Evansville mobile home where a body was found early this morning.
Deputies from the Rock County Sheriff's Office along with fire and EMS personnel from Evansville, Brooklyn and Stoughton were dispatched at 2:41 a.m. to 8441 N. Highway 14.
En-route, responding units were advised that a person might still be in the home.
The victim didn't make it out of the residence, which sits on Lot 15 at the end of a small mobile home park across the highway from the Evansville Country Club.
First on the scene, Evansville police found the home fully engulfed and were unable to enter. Residents of nearby mobile homes were evacuated because of intense heat and large flames.
After firefighters extinguished the flames, they found a body in the bedroom area of the home, said Capt. Jude Maurer of the sheriff's office.
Maurer said the victim has not been identified. An autopsy and check of dental records are expected to positively identify the person, he said.
A nearby resident awoken by the popping and crackling of the blaze called in the fire.
Sheriff's investigators continue to look for a cause, and they remained on the scene this morning. Early speculation is that a spark from a wood-burning stove or a fireplace insert might have started the fire, Maurer said.
If needed, the state fire marshal might be called to help with the investigation.
"We want to investigate fully and make sure that this was an accidental death and that no criminal charges are necessary," Maurer said.
About six hours later, Evansville firefighters responded to another fire at 8:34 a.m. at 124 Highland St., in Evansville. No details were available about that fire by press time.
Mar 6, 2009 at 8:12 a.m.
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Nice...because he is actually a 34 year old male, and most likely a different reporter took different details from the scene than others. They know 99.9% who it is, but to make sure, they won't release his name until the dental records come back. And each reporter most likely decided what was important for their story. It's irrelevant what his/her age or gender is...this person is no longer with us.
Mar 5, 2009 at 6:44 p.m.
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How does channel 3 news know that the person who died was a 34 year old man and the gazette knows nothing??
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