CEDAR CITY, Utah, Aug. 13, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials said a man who was found dead inside a home in Cedar City after a residential fire Sunday may have taken his own life.
The structure fire occurred late Sunday afternoon in the area of the 2200 North block of Red Cedar Circle.
A news release issued Monday morning by Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock said that after crews extinguished the fire, a man was found deceased inside the home.
“Investigators found evidence that suggests the male subject died from an apparent suicide,” the news release said.
The body will be sent to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner to determine the exact cause of death and identification; the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A news release Sunday said the city’s Public Safety Communications Center received multiple 911 calls reporting the fire at about 4:47 p.m.
“The Cedar City Police Department, Cedar City Fire Department, and Gold Cross Ambulance arrived within four minutes to find a residential home fully engulfed with flames,” the news release states.
“Officers attempted contact at the home and did not receive any response,” the follow-up news release said. “Officers shut off the gas and power to the home. The fire department started their fire suppression efforts as officers went to neighboring homes to get them out with the active fire.”
As the fire department continued to suppress the fire, equipment was called in to assist with knocking down a wall and removing rubble in an effort to extinguish any remaining hot spots, the news release goes on. It was when crews were in the process of removing rubble that they found the deceased man.
Gephardt Daily does not report on suicides unless there is an impact to the public, such as evacuations as in this case, or they occur in a public place.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
