COLUMBUS, Ind. — Multiple local agencies are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death a local man after first responders were called for a house fire.
Columbus firefighters, police and a Columbus Regional Health ambulance were sent to a duplex in the 5200 block of Miami Drive at 6:14 a.m. Sunday, according to Lt. Skylar Berry, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
The caller lived in the duplex, noticed smoke inside the building, and evacuated, Berry said.
However, the caller had not been able to make contact with the neighbor in the other half of the duplex. When emergency personnel arrived, they entered the other apartment and found a man deceased, Berry said.
The deceased man was identified as Don Horne, 85 of Columbus.
As CFD crews worked within the interior of the home, a smoldering fire that had extended to the home’s attic grew in size and was extinguished by firefighters. Columbus police detectives, a Columbus Fire Department fire marshal, and the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office were called to the scene to investigate.
The results of the autopsy conducted on Monday are pending, Berry said. Investigators are continuing to work to determine the circumstances surrounding Horne’s
death, but they have not found any indications of foul play at this point, according to Berry.
