POLICE SAY DEADLY BLAZE IN PAINTSVILLE WAS ACCIDENTAL, THOUGH STRANGE CASE
According to fire and police investigators, Johnson County 911 received a call from the Days Inn on Saturday, November 2, around 11:30 A.M., informing first responders that the cleaning crew went to a room and discovered it had been on fire and there was a body in the floor.
Emergency first responders appeared on scene, who later identified the man as Barry Gordan Stambaugh, 66, of Pikeville, KY.
The preliminary investigation determined that Barry Stambaugh was smoking in his bed and likely fell asleep, dropping his cigarette and igniting the mattress.
Officers say the remains of the mattress was engulfed, based on the scene, and that the room received substantial damage, but it was isolated into the sealed room and had smothered out before the cleaning crew arrived.
No one was alarmed by the fire while it was happening, so the scene was only discovered because the room was in need of daily cleaning, it was past check-out time, and that the cleaning crew and management knew that Barry Stambaugh had not yet checked out of the room.
Johnson County Coroner J.R. Frisby stated that autopsy results suggested Barry Stambaugh died of smoke inhalation, and that he had third degree burns on his body.
No foul play is suspected, but the investigation into the fatal fire is still ongoing.
Paintsville Police Department officers Darrell Preston and Justin Jackson, along with Johnson County Constable District 1 Tim J. Branham, responded to the fire scene, alongside Paintsville Fire and EMS, the Johnson County Coroner Office, and the Kentucky State Police Post 9 in Pikeville.
