Investigators with the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office have ruled that the fire that killed a 65-year-old disabled man in his Jewell Village home last weekend started from improper disposal of smoking materials.
Ronald K. Rhoades, 65, of 744 Della Road, was found dead in his home after firefighters extinguished a fire there at 3:17 a.m. Saturday.
State fire investigators determined that Rhoades was a smoker who had placed a plastic trash can next to his bed and used it to dump ashes in.
A thorough examination determined the area of the fire’s origin was where the trash can had been sitting, said Adam W. Sturm, a public information officer with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The state fire marshal’s office is part of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
The state fire investigator was called in because the fire resulted in a death, which is standard procedure, Sturm said. Foul play is not suspected in Rhoades’ death, he said.
When Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies and area firefighters arrived at the scene, Rhoades’ one-story frame home was fully engulfed in flames. It took firefighters about an hour to put out the fire, and firefighters had been told that someone might be in the home when they were dispatched to the fire, investigators said.
During the search after the fire was out, firefighters found Rhoades’ body. Rhoades lived in the home alone, and used a walker to get around, according to his neighbors. Home health care aides had visited the home from time to time, neighbors said.
