One dies in Marion house fire

MARION - A smoky fire that may have gone out early Sunday morning before firefighters arrived left a Marion man dead, authorities said.

Marion firefighters said the fire broke out just before 3 a.m. at 3462 Barnsley Circle in Marion. Capt. William Houser of the Marion Fire Department said the initial call to the department was only about a smell of smoke inside the home. Firefighters didn't know there was an actual fire until they arrived on the scene.

Houser said the home had working smoke detectors, and three other people inside the home made it out safely. Houser said firefighters discovered a body in a back bedroom where the fire apparently originated.

From the outside, the house showed no evidence of fire damage.

Marion authorities have not released the identity of the person who died or a cause of death.

Ben Huston, a brother-in-law of the victim, said investigators may be looking at either a candle or an electrical problem as the cause.

'From what we can gather at this point, the wife was able to get the two small children out of the house and when she went back to get her husband she wasn't able to get in due to smoke that was in the house at the time,” Huston said.

Marion Fire Captain Houser said the smoke inside the room was thick, but the fire had basically extinguished itself and firefighters did not use any water to put it out.

Fire investigators did not expect to release the identity of the victim until Monday.