CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Investigators say a fatal fire from Wednesday morning in Charleston was a result of arson and a murder investigation is now underway.
Charleston Fire Chief Shawn Wanner said the male victim, now identified as Dennis R. Rutledge, 52, of Charleston, was discovered on the second floor of the abandoned house in Kanawha City. Firefighters pulled him from the burning home soon after their arrival and he was unresponsive. He later died at the hospital.
“We found the person on the second floor of the original fire structure. Life saving measures were used on the person and they were transported, but they did not survive,” said Wanner.
According to Charleston Police, Rutledge had been a squatter on the second floor of the home. Chief Wanner said on abandoned house fires, it’s common to send crews in to make a primary and secondary search if there is still a chance to get inside.
“An occupied residence people will be there to tell us everybody is out or if somebody is still inside, but on an abandoned structure, we rarely ever know. If conditions warrant we let crews go in and do a primary and secondary search to make sure nobody is in there–that’s when they found the person,” Wannner explained.
The fire appeared to have started on the back porch of the house and spread inside. The smoke was so thick when crews arrived it appear to have spread to a second house next door, but Wanner said that wasn’t the case.
“It appeared we had two separate structures on fire, but he second was mainly smoke pushing out of the original fire structure and it made it look like two of them were on fire,” he said.
Charleston fire marshals have determined the fire was set deliberately and the city fire and police departments are collaborating on the investigation. So far there are no suspects, but a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction is offered.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Criminal Investigation Division, 304-348-6480, Metro Communications, 304, 348-8111, or Target Arson, 1-800-233-3473.