VAUGHNSVILLE, Ohio — Authorities believe a laundry dryer is most likely to blame for a Putnam County house fire Thursday night in which an elderly man was killed.
Ohio state fire marshal investigators said two women and a child escaped uninjured, however, Stanley L. Rayman, 80, was unsuccessful, and was pronounced dead at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio. The survivors’ names were not released.
The sheriff’s office responded to a 10:25 p.m. fire call and discovered a house fully engulfed, deputies said.
State fire marshal investigators said the fire started in or around a dryer. When the residents heard the dryer stop without the usual notification sound, they found the fire and started their escape attempt.
The house, which had working smoke alarms, was a total loss. Investigators on Friday did not have a dollar estimate.
Fire and emergency departments from Kalida, Ottoville, Columbus Grove, Fort Jennings, Pandora, Ottoville, and Cairo, Ohio, assisted at the scene.
Also investigating the fire are the Putnam County sheriff’s office; the Kalida fire department and the Putnam and Allen County coroner’s offices, a state fire marshal’s spokesman said.
Vaughnsville is about 65 miles southwest of Toledo.