Fire investigators announced Monday that Raymond and Caroline Jenkins were killed by the smoke that filled their centuries old house during a fire last month in Middletown.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The couple, both in their 60s, succumbed to smoke inhalation during the March 19 blaze in the 300 block of North Elmwood Avenue, Fire Marshal Jim McGuire told LevittownNow.com on Monday. The information came to light after an autopsy in the days following the fire and recently returned toxicology results.
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McGuire said fire started in a wood-burning stove that was made of a 55-gallon drum in the basement of the house, which was built around 1740.
“[The drum] was their sole heating source in the house,” the fire marshal said.
Firefighters were called to the house around 8:15 p.m. on March 19 and made their way up the dirt road to the house to work to put out the fire. Heavy flames shot from the roof as neighbors watched as the home burn.
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Raymond Jenkins was found on the first floor of the home and Caroline Jenkins was discovered in a second-floor bedroom, officials said in March.
Investigators determined the fire burned for a long period of time before it spread through the home, which did not feature working smoke detectors.
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