A 65-year-old disabled man died in an early morning fire in his Jewel Village home southeast of Columbus.
The Bartholomew County Coroner’s office identified the victim as Ronald K. Rhoades, 65, of 744 Della Road, who was found in the home after firefighters extinguished a fire called in at 3:17 a.m. Saturday.
The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office has been called in to investigate the cause of the fire, firefighters said. Bartholomew County Deputy Coroner Jay Frederick said investigators do not suspect foul play in the incident.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Department deputies and area firefighters sent to the scene said the one-story frame house was nearly fully engulfed in flames when they arrived.
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A neighbor who lives a few houses down the street, Will Kieltyk, said he and his family were asleep when one of his neighbors began frantically pounding on his door just after 3 a.m. Saturday, yelling that the nearby house was on fire. The victim’s home is where the road dead-ends into Asenath Street.
Kieltyk said he called 911. But by then, he could see that flames had filled Rhoades’ home.
“There wasn’t anything that anyone could have done,” Kieltyk said.
Neighbors said Rhoades had home health care aides visit his home. Frederick said investigators have learned that Rhoades was a smoker and used a walker to get around. He was the only person who resides in the Della Road home, Frederick said.
Most of the homes in the area were built in the 1950s and neighbors estimated the home that burned may have been at least 60 years old.
First responders who arrived within minutes of the fire call could not enter the home because of the extensive flames.
Deputies Dylan Prather and Leah Burton arrived and notified nearby neighbors about the possibility of evacuation, deputies said. Several of the homes along Della Road share a transformer providing electrical power, and neighbors were told that electricity and gas service was being shut off as a precaution.
Clay Township Fire Department, which had primary responsibility for responding to the fire, was assisted by Columbus Township, Elizabethtown and Wayne Township crews.
It took firefighters about 50 minutes to extinguish the fire, said Columbus Township Deputy Chief Chris Gephart, who was among the first Columbus firefighters to arrive. During the search after the fire was out, firefighters located Rhoades’ body, he said. Firefighters had been told when dispatched to the fire that someone might be in the home, he said.
They also learned that the victim may have had a cat, but the pet had not been located by firefighters.
The home was blocked off with crime scene tape on Saturday, with charred debris scattered about the yard and in the interior. A few walls were left standing but firefighters said the home was considered a total loss.
