House fire in Madison County leaves one dead, injures two

LONDON, Ohio (WCMH) -- One person is dead and two others were taken to a hospital Thursday from a house fire in Madison County.

According to the Pleasant Township Fire Department, it was alerted about 11:15 a.m. to a house fire and explosion on Pringle-Benjamin Road, which is off of State Route 665 between London and Grove City.

Chief David Whiting said the house was heavily involved in a fire upon the arrival of firefighters, made worse by winds that prevented them from attempting to get inside and conduct a search.

A passerby who arrived before firefighters noticed a person trapped and attempted to break a window to help them get out, injuring themselves in the process. That passerby was taken to a hospital, as was one person from inside the house who got out. The person who died was inside the house.

The identities of the victims have yet to be released; two people at the scene identified themselves as the homeowners' grandchildren, saying their grandfather was the person who died.

"He was definitely a great guy," Trevor Rose said. "He will be missed deeply."

"I was taking a nap before work and my mom called and told me that the house blew up and Papaw didn't make it," Kayla Legg said.

Multiple nearby fire departments responded to a call for assistance. Whiting said debris in the yard made it seem likely that an explosion was part of the fire.

"There's window blinds, windows, the door's completely off," Whiting said. "There's splinters from everything."

Legg said her grandfather was a veteran, a devoted church member, and a proud family man.

"He'd get up in front of church every Sunday and you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth," she said. "I didn't make it there all the time, but when I was there, it was fun. He loved his great-grandbabies, his grandkids."

"I think everyone at church will remember him for always having a smile and picking people up, especially when someone was down, and if anybody needed help, he was always there," Rose said.

Rose is thankful for the good Samaritan who risked his life trying to save their loved ones.

"Thank you," he said. "It takes a man to jump in. A lot of people just want to pull their phones out nowadays, so for him jumping in and taking action, that speaks to who he is."

Now, the family is leaning on faith, community support, and memories.

"I remember Papaw when we were growing up, he'd always say, 'Get in my belly,' when he was eating and that's the one thing I'll always remember about him," Legg said.

Family members said their grandmother is in the intensive care unit of a local hospital with serious burns.

An investigation into the fire's cause is underway.