WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — The body of a 45-year-old man was found Easter Sunday morning after a house fire near the intersection of Touby and Garver roads in Washington Township.
Bob Ball, chief investigator for the Richland County Coroner’s Office, said only a preliminary identity for the man had been established as of Sunday morning.
The Washington Township Fire Department battled the blaze, which Ball said began just after midnight. The house was destroyed in the fire.
The State Fire Marshal was at the scene on Sunday morning, as was the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. No cause for the fire had been determined.
A Richland County-owned excavator was brought in to help with the fire debris.
Ball said the man’s body was found around 7 a.m. and will be taken to Montgomery County for identification and autopsy.
“It looks like (the man) was in the living room. The inside of the house has collapsed, so it looks like (he was in) the living room area,” Ball said at the scene on Sunday morning.
As work continued at the scene, Ball said he didn’t know if anyone else had been inside the house.
“They’re going to do some more recovery,” Ball said.
(This is a developing story and may be updated Sunday as information becomes available.)
(Below are photos taken at the scene on Sunday morning near the intersection of Touby and Garver roads in Washington Township.)
