2 Die, 2 Injured In Chillicothe House Fire

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio—Fire investigators continued to inquire into the cause of a house fire that killed two people and injured two more.

NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.

Chillicothe fire crews and mutual aid departments were called to 164 W. 4th St. at about 8 p.m. Monday. The home was fully engulfed when crews arrived on the scene.

Eleven people were inside the single-story home when the fire started, according to officials.

James Beverly, 37, wasn’t able to escape the flames and died in the fire.

A 19-month-old with burns on 80 percent of his or her body, a 2-month-old and 29-year-old Nicholas Urita were transported to Adena Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Urita is the father of the 2-month-old.

The toddler and infant later were flown by medical helicopter to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Urita later was transported to OSU Medical Center’s burn center.

During a Tuesday morning press conference, NBC 4 learned the 2-month-old also died as a result of the fire. Authorities haven’t released the child’s sex.

Apparently, in both cases, an adult was rescuing a child when the adult was overcome by the fire.

Two other people were treated and released at area hospitals.

Officials said both the toddler and infant were found right inside the doorway.

“It was just really devastating. There was like flames everywhere,“ said neighbor Robin Hess. “All I heard when everybody found out it was going on, was this guy who was outside just screaming his baby was in there.“

Hess held the toddler moments after the child was rescued.

“I’m not going to go into details on what they looked like, but let’s just say they need a lot of prayer right now,“ Hess said.

The Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal was called to the scene Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire remains undetermined and under investigation.

“It’s a big jigsaw puzzle, and it will take some time to put it together,“ Assistant Fire Chief Steve Gallagher said.

The state fire marshal’s office said that some specific details, including the origin of the fire, will not be released until the investigation is complete.

The use of smoke detectors remained unknown. Fire crews said they did not hear any upon arrival, and investigators have not found any during the on-scene investigation.

The state fire marshal said there have been 102 fire fatalities in 2009 so far. There were 187 fire fatalities in 2008 statewide. 

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