SIDNEY — A Sidney male occupant of a Thursday afternoon house fire on Second Avenue lost his life from injuries sustained in the fire.
According to a press release from the Sidney Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Vernon King, 59, of 627 Second Ave., has been identified as the deceased victim of the fire.
Sidney firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at 627 Second Ave. on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 1:08 p.m. Upon arrival, fire crews found a well-involved, wind-driven fire at a single-family, two-story residential structure.
A box alarm was struck to recall all off-duty Sidney personnel and to receive mutual aid from Anna and Lockington Fire Departments.
One occupant had escaped by jumping from a second-story window to a bystander below, but King, was trapped inside the residence. Fire crews initiated a coordinated fire attack and rescue simultaneously. King was located in a second-story room by fire crews and was removed from the structure to an awaiting medic unit. Both victims were transported by Sidney personnel to Wilson Health.
The occupant who was able to escape the structure was transported to Wilson Health and then transferred to a Dayton-area hospital.
After the rescue crew removed King, CPR and other life-saving measures were administered. Despite the efforts, King was pronounced deceased at Wilson Health.
Fire crews battled the fire for approximately 20 minutes before bringing the incident under control.
AES Ohio, CenterPoint Energy, and city of Sidney; underground utilities personnel were brought to the scene to control utilities.
The loss to the residence, owned by Jay R. Higgins, is estimated at $60,000 to the structure and $30,000 to the contents.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Sidney Department of Fire and Emergency Services Fire Investigation Unit, the State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau.
