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Relatives give DNA to identify men killed in Lebanon fire

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Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli Firefighters survey the damage after a fire destroyed a Lebanon home Monday, Oct. 19.

By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 5:28 PM Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Relatives believed to be related to the three men killed in a Lebanon house fire Monday, Oct. 21 have come forward for DNA testing in an attempt to identify the bodies, according to the county’s coroner.

Warren County Coroner Dr. Russell Uptegrove said he had a “pretty good idea” who the three men were, but would not disclose there identities until they were confirmed through DNA analysis, which may take weeks.

Uptegrove said the bodies had been too badly burned for visual identification. He said the possible family members of the victims did not know where or when the men had last seen a dentist, ruling out the possibility of identification via dental records.

Firefighters were called to the century-old Lebanon home at 213/215 Walnut Street around 2:30 a.m. Monday. The two-level, multi-family house, owned by former Lebanon fire chief Jerry Crisp, was destroyed in the quick spreading fire. When firefighters arrived, flames had engulfed the building.

Lebanon resident Roger Collins said he knew two men who lived in the house and may have been killed in the fire. Collins said the two men he knew worked for Crisp.

Collins claims the building was in deplorable conditions, with a hole cut through the first floor apartment to provide running water via a hose.

The state’s fire marshal is continuing to investigate the cause of the fire, which remains undetermined.

A possible reason the fire could have spread so quickly would be if the house had a balloon frame construction. This type of construction, common in houses built in early 1900s, has open spaces between the floors with no insulation, allowing a fire to quickly spread. Shane Cartmill, spokesman for the state’s fire marshal, said it has not been determined if the house balloon frame construction, but the time frame in which it was build made it a “likelihood.”

Neighbors seemed to know little about the men killed in the fire. Adam Yetter, who lived across the street from the destroyed house, recalled them as “older fellows” and believed they worked landscaping.

Rodger Brown of Brown Plumbing said he had done some plumbing work in the house, said he knew the deceased but could only give casual nicknames. He said one of the men was mentally handicapped and that both probably would have been homeless except they were allowed to live at the home in exchange for dong work for the owner, Jerry Crisp.

Crisp, who was Lebanon’s fire chief from 1975 to 1982, could not be reached. He owns several other rental properties in the area with a history of code violations.

The house at 213/215 had a history of city code violations dating back to 2006, according to documents from the city of Lebanon department of Code Enforcement. Among the most egregious were a lack of working smoke alarms and no running water, both listed in a report dated July 7, 2007. Another inspection from Dec. 22, 2008 again cited the lack of running water. The December 2008 report also made mention of a wooden stove that had not been inspected.

The building was last inspected in June where it was noted that some of the “plumbing deficiencies” had been addressed but others still remained. City code inspector Bruce Bowerman noted at the time he had made contact with Crisp about reinspection in the following weeks but had not since been able to gain access. Bowerman also noted he was “unable to determine if anyone lived in the building” in the efforts to reinspect since June. Because Lebanon does not have a rental property inspection plan, inspectors can only gain access to a building with the consent of owner or tenant, according to city manager Pat Clements.

Crisp owns nine properties in Warren County and owes $14,065 in delinquent taxes. All but one of the properties is listed as delinquent on property taxes, according to the Warren County Auditor’s Office Web site.

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