Victims identified in fatal fire
David Payne Sr.PULLMAN - Officials this morning released the names of an elderly mother and son killed in a house fire in Pullman Saturday morning.
Lola F. Eakle, 91, and her son Teddy L. Eakle, 67, perished in the blaze, said Ritchie County Sheriff Bryan Backus.
Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dana Nutt said the fire was reported at 5:07 a.m. Saturday and firefighters arrived about 5:22 a.m. at the two-story home in the center of Pullman, located about 6 miles southeast of Harrisville. Pennsboro firefighters had to travel about 7 miles to get there, he said.
"By the time we got there, the house was engulfed," Nutt said.
Backus said the bodies have been taken to the West Virginia Medical Examiner in Charleston and will be released to the McCullough Funeral Home in Harrisville.
Backus said police have no reason to believe the fire's origin was suspicious.
The Harrisville VFD responded with three engines and 17 firefighters and Pennsboro VFD responded with five apparatus and 13 firefighters. Firefighters were on the scene until 4 p.m. Saturday.
Nutt said the house was a total loss. Due to the extensive damage, the cause and origin were undetermined Sunday, but the fire was not believed to be of suspicious origin, he said.
Both Nutt and a Ritchie County 911 dispatcher said the house did not have an address. Nutt said it was on Main Street near the Pullman United Methodist Church.
Nutt said the cause of the fire remained unknown this morning.
"It's still undetermined. There wasn't much of the house left," he said.
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kurlyq57
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03-09-09 11:26 PM
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my prayers are with the family
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DILLIGAS
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03-09-09 3:49 PM
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Rest in peace.
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