Grease eyed in fire
Authorities suspect a pan of grease left unattended on the stove caused a fatal weekend fire at a Butler home.
Paul Josef Jarvis, 22, who lived with his father at the two-story house in the 300 block of First Street, died in the fire shortly after midnight Saturday.
Investigators believe Jarvis, a sophomore at Butler County Community College, was killed when he returned to the burning home to rescue his pets.
An autopsy was conducted Saturday but a cause of death is pending a toxicology report, according to Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr.
He likely died of smoke inhalation, Barr said.
Butler police said Jarvis apparently had been cooking with hot grease, possibly french fires, when the fire ignited in the kitchen, which is in back of the house.
The fire quickly got into the wall and traveled up the second floor and into the roof, said Butler Fire Chief Nick Ban.
Jarvis' father, Paul Donald Jarvis, was not home. The elder Jarvis owns the house. He's lived there since 2005, authorities said.
Flames had taken over the entire house by the time firefighters got there about 12:05 a.m.
Jarvis was out of the house after the blaze broke out but went back inside in hopes of rescuing several cats. He never made it out, authorities said.
Firefighters found Jarvis' body on the floor of a second-floor bedroom. Next to his body was the remains of a cat.
A friend managed to save guinea pigs that were in a cage on the front porch. A dog also safely made it outside.
Trooper Luke Nelson, a state police fire marshal, is investigating the cause.
He said it appears to be a cooking fire; however, the condition of the house was too unsafe to conduct a thorough investigation immediately after the fire.
Nelson said he hoped to return to the home in a day or two.
“At this point,” he said, “everything appears to point to an accidental fire.”
Ban, meanwhile, said he planned to have the house condemned. He said it would likely have to be torn down.
Damage to the house and contents was estimated at $175,000. The property was insured.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Jarvis was enrolled at BC3 where he was working on an associate degree in chemistry. He planned to attend pharmacy school after his graduation, family members said.
His obituary is on Page 7.
