State police say victim started fatal blaze, but didn’t mean to kill himself

Kentucky State Police say a Thursday morning mobile home fire apparently claimed the life of the man who is believed to have set it.
“We’re sure he ignited it in some fashion. We don’t have verification in what he might have used to ignite it,” said Trooper Don Trosper, public affairs officer at the London post. “We think it was an accident that he ended up getting caught in it.”
Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley said authorities have identified the victim as Ronnie Brooks, 46, of Woodbine, who was pronounced dead at the scene Thursday morning.
Because the body was badly burned in the fire along with any identifying documents the victim had on him, authorities are using x-rays to positively identify the body although family members have identified jewelry on the body as that of Brooks, Croley said.
“We are taking some time in making a positive identification on him. He died due to injuries sustained in the fire,” Croley said. “The actual circumstances of the death are still unknown.”
The official cause of death is being listed as smoke inhalation, or carbon monoxide poisoning due to inhalation of smoke.
“There was no gun shots. There were no trauma injuries whatsoever,” Croley added.
Thursday’s fire was the second time in 24 hours that firefighters had been to the home, and arson is the suspected cause of both blazes, Trosper said.
Three-Point firefighters first responded to the residence about 9:30 a.m. last Wednesday concerning a structure fire at the same residence at 103 S. Log Cabin Road.
“When they first got there, there was a lot of heavy smoke,” said Three-Point Fire Chief Gary Crussenberry.
Initially during the first fire, there were reports about a possible entrapment in the residence, which led the first two firefighters on the scene to enter the house and search it as best they could until the fire truck arrived, Crussenberry said.
“They ventilated the residence and didn’t find anything but fire in the floor. The fire was all out. There was just a lot of heavy smoke in the trailer,” Crussenberry said.
Crussenberry said he believes the first fire was probably set, but burned itself out due to a lack of oxygen.
At the request of the fire department, KSP Detective Henry Nunn, an arson investigator, was called in to investigate the blaze.
The owner of the doublewide trailer, Hargas Tony Gibson, was out of town at the time of both fires camping at Cave Run, Trosper said.
Firefighters were called back to the residence about 6:30 a.m. Thursday for the second blaze. When they arrived, little was left but a few walls, Crussenberry noted.
At first, Crussenberry said firefighters had no idea someone was inside the residence, but that they did notice a strange truck parked at the rear of the trailer, which wasn’t there the day before.
Police have identified the owner of the 1999 Chevy pick-up truck as Brooks.
The fire department had already emptied nearly one fire truck full of water onto the residence and were waiting for a second truck to arrive when Crussenberry discovered the body.
Crussenberry said he had been at the scene for about six minutes when he walked around the residence, and spotted what he believed to be a body near the back of the home. He called for other firefighters to verify his findings.
Croley said Brooks’ body was found in the living room area.
About 15 to 20 firefighters responded to the scene Thursday, and were there for over five hours. Firefighters were on the scene for about five hours the first day as well.
The Whitley County Major Crimes Task Force was activated Thursday morning, and initially investigated the blaze before turning the case over to Nunn.
There was no gas can found inside the residence, but Trosper said there were signs that accelerants were used, and that samples have been sent to the state police crime lab for verification.
Two plastic one or two-gallon containers, which are commonly the type used to carry gasoline, were lying in the bed of Brooks truck when police towed it away. Trosper said police don’t know what was inside, and are awaiting the results of crime lab tests.
Crussenberry said he doesn’t know if the plastic containers in the truck bed had gasoline inside, but that they “smelled of gas.”
Brooks did not live in the area, and authorities haven’t found any links so far, which would indicate why he was inside the home, Trosper added.
The case is still under investigation.
Agencies assisting at the scene included: the Kentucky Fire Marshall’s Office, Sheriff’s Lt. Chuck Davis, Williamsburg Detective Wayne Bird, Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Tim Shelley, Lt. Todd Shelley, Croley, Three-Point, Oak Grove, Emlyn and Woodbine volunteer fire departments and at least one member of Rockholds volunteer fire department.