Fire victim is identified
By Brandy Nance
Originally published 01:18 p.m., January 17, 2008
Updated 01:18 p.m., January 17, 2008
The fire department has released the name of the victim who died in Tuesday's early morning duplex fire at 603 Valley Drive.
Emporia Fire Chief Jack Taylor said the victim who was found dead on the second floor of the duplex is Michael Leith, 38. The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The house was occupied by five people, two of whom were trapped inside, according to a press release by the Emporia Fire Department.
Upon arrival, firefighters saw flames coming from a second-story window of the house, which was occupied by Auspision LLC, a provider of residential and day service affiliated with Hetlinger Developmental Services.
Emporia Police Officers Kelly Davis and Tanner Monhollon rescued one person from the second floor. A third officer, Kevin Shireman, entered the building to help clear it. Three people had already escaped from the house. The fifth person was found dead on the second floor after firefighters entered the building to conduct a search and extinguish the fire.
Before emergency crews arrived, an Auspision worker, Robert Houston, got as many people out of the burning home as he could.
In a press release Wednesday the Emporia Fire Department, along with an investigator with the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office, said it has finished the investigation into the fire. The cause of the fire that originated in Leith’s room is undetermined and still considered accidental. The cause of death for Leith is not determined pending autopsy reports from the Shawnee County Coroner’s Office.
CRYSTALJO (anonymous) says...
This is not right! Robert Houston was the one who pulled those men out of the house, not the police! Also there was only four men who lived there, including Robert Houston, who was the staff, made five people in the home at the time of the fire. Robert recived multiple injuries saving those men and should be known for the HERO he is!! I want Robby to know your sister-in-law is VERY proud of you and if no one is giving credit where credit is due, including the Gazette, I will post as many comments as it takes till everyone knows the truth!!!
January 17, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
old_soldier (anonymous) says...
The truth is getting out there. Robert is a hero in every aspect of the word.
January 17, 2008 at 2:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hartford (anonymous) says...
WOW! A man lost his life! Can we argue about who is or isn't the heroes somewhere else? Come on!!
January 17, 2008 at 10:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CRYSTALJO (anonymous) says...
http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/jan/18/...
January 18, 2008 at 6:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
iconoclast (anonymous) says...
sorry, but this (possibly...hell, i hope MY sister -in-law never pulls this stupid crap) self-indulgent nonsense is absolutely ridiculous. unlike previous posters(who apparently have no common sense) i will NOT leak unreported information. i will however unilaterally declare that some of the above "hero" posts are inaccurate. credit should be given where it is due, and not robbed of those who played a vital part in this terribly unfortunate situation at great personal risk to themselves. from the above posting one would imagine that robert houston died for our sins and we'll all thank him in heaven. somebody died, and it wasn't robert houston. he has burns on his hands and face, and michael leith is DEAD. robert did all that he could and his actions are quite commendable at the very least. however, using this experience to downplay the loss of human life and try to gain media coverage for some guy that happened to be there is disgusting. robert was doing his JOB and he did it well, nothing more. this was a horrible accident, robert did a good job. anything more is looking for 15 minutes of fame.
BTW: for negative replies to this post i will assume you can write at a fifth-grade level. judging from previous posts i will assume this is impossible.
January 19, 2008 at 2:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
smith_ron (anonymous) says...
The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle both reported this morning that a second person has died as a result of this tragic fire.
Does The Gazette aware that its readers have to shop somewhere else to get the current news?
By the way, I am a subscriber.
January 22, 2008 at 12:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )