Story by Chris Lawrence, MetroNews
IRELAND, W.Va. — A fire early Monday morning in Lewis County with multiple fatalities is believed to be connected to a suicide in Kanawha County.
The West Virginia State Fire Marshal is investigating the fire which was reported just after midnight Monday morning at a home on Glady Creek Road in the Ireland community of Lewis County.
“Once units got on scene they realized they had what appeared to be at least one fatality, but as they continued to work the scene, we realized it was going to be multiple fatalities,” said Deputy State Fire Marshal Robbie Bailey.
Bailey told MetroNews its believed there could be as many as four victims in the Lewis County fire which is considered suspicious.
Meanwhile, as part of the investigation, the fire marshal contacted Kanawha County deputies asking them to check a home in the area of Hughes Creek in eastern Kanawha County. An individual who was a person of interest in the fire had family in that location. Kanawha County Chief Deputy Joe Crawford said responding deputies found the vehicle they were looking for at around 4 a.m. Monday.
“We located the vehicle and as they pulled up on scene it appeared the individual in the car they were looking for committed suicide,” Crawford said.
Crawford confirmed the man shot himself. Kanawha County deputies secured the vehicle and had it towed to their facility as evidence in the Lewis County arson investigation.
Authorities have not released any names tied to the two incidents. The fire marshal was unable to determine at this point the ages or sex of the victims in the fire.