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Logansport fire leaves two dead
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“It has been, simply put, a very sad month for our county. No one can explain it, at least I can’t ..."
-- Marty Jones, Butler County Coroner
By C. Josh Givens
The Banner-Republican
An early morning fire at 424 Horseshoe Bend Road in Logansport has claimed the lives of an elderly man and a middle-aged woman.
The dispatched report of the fire went out just before 6 a.m., after a neighbor saw smoke coming from the eaves of the house as he went out to prepare to mow his lawn.
The victims have been identified as Homer Elder, 80, and Shannon Stampler, 39, who were grandfather and granddaughter. Elder was discovered in his bed, while Stampler was found on the floor beside her bed, according to Butler County Coroner Marty Jones.
Firefighters from Morgantown, Second District and Fifth District Fire Departments responded to the incident, along with units from Butler County Ambulance Service, Butler County Sheriff’s Department, Morgantown Police Department, Kentucky State Police, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The first units of MFD arrived on scene at 6:11 a.m.
“I knew right away when I saw the smoke, something was not right," said Greg Lack, who served for 22 years as a firefighter with Lewisburg and Russellville Fire Departments in Logan County. “The windows were swelled out when I approached the house, and I called out to anyone inside, but there was no answer. I really wanted to go inside, but with no equipment ..."
Lack’s wife Tonia said she had seen Elder using a wheelchair, and Stampler had just recently began to wave to the couple when she would see them outside or on the road.
“We didn’t really know them, but we tried to be neighborly and wave, and that sort of thing," Tonya Lack said. “This is just horrible. I can’t even really think about it right now. It’s a shock."
The Lacks reside on Whalen Cemetery Road, just across from the Stampler residence on Horseshoe Bend.
Firefighters with MFD made entry into the house at 6:17 a.m., and the male victim was pulled from the residence at 6:29 a.m. Jones pronounced the victims deceased at 7:03 a.m., though he initially held off identification pending notification of family living outside Butler County.
Jones left the scene to transport the victims to the Louisville office of the State Medical Examiner around 9 a.m. Autopsies are scheduled for Sunday.
Jones said he has worked in the Butler County Coroner’s office for nearly 13 years, the past 4 1/2 as coroner, and he has never experienced such a tragic period of time in the county such as began on June 1.
“It has been, simply put, a very sad month for our county,” Jones said. “No one can explain it, at least I can’t. Certainly, it’s a lot of different situations to face, but I believe we have some of the most caring professionals in the state.”
Since the beginning of the month, there has been a fatality traffic crash on Eden Stretch, a subject shot by a sheriff’s deputy during a domestic disturbance incident on Brownsville Road, a double-fatality traffic crash on County Road, and Saturday morning's fire deaths.
Several fire investigators were on-scene, including Officer Charlie Tomes of MPD and Detective David West of KSP, as well as additional investigators with KSP and the Fire Marshal. The investigators were expected to remain at the scene for an extended period of time.
Deputies Chris Reneer and Trey Flener responded for the BCSD, and Deputy Coroner Brian McKinney assisted Jones.
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