Man who escaped Madison Twp. fatal fire was saved from blaze at same trailer

The State Fire Marshal and Butler County Arson Task Force investigators are continuing their probe of a fatal Sunday evening trailer fire in Madison Twp.

Butler County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kim Peters said the investigation is continuing and no arrests have been made as of mid-afternoon Tuesday in the fire that occurred at Catalina Trailer Park, 6501 Germantown Road.

Emergency crews were called about 8:06 p.m. Sunday to the blaze in which Steven C. Strain, 59, died in the mobile home. Sheriff’s deputies said the trailer was already engulfed in flames when they arrived. The deputies attempted to get to the occupant’s bedroom, but due to the intensity of the fire in front of the trailer were unable to make entry.

After the fire was out, first responders entered the trailer and found the occupant, Strain, on the hallway floor leading from the bedroom to the front door, according to the sheriff’s incident report.

According to the Butler County Coroner’s Office, an autopsy was conducted of Strain’s body on Monday. The coroner’s office listed the preliminary cause of death as smoke inhalation and the preliminary manner of death an as accident.

The trailer home was a total loss from the fire, according to Madison Twp. Fire Chief Kent Hall. He said estimated damages at $15,000 to the trailer and $2,000 to the contents.

Hall confirmed firefighters had put out a blaze at the same trailer on Aug. 12. During that fire, three Catalina Trailer Park employees pulled a person from inside the rear door and remove him from the trailer in the Aug. 12. That person was identified as James Johnson, the original owner of the trailer, according to Hall. In that fire, Hall said one of the trailer’s rooms had been burned, and the trailer sustained smoke damage.

Johnson was the person who told deputies how Sunday’s fire started, according to the sheriff’s report. He was also the one who told deputies that Strain was asleep in the front bedroom.

The Catalina park employees were recently recognized with Lifesaving Awards from the fire department.

Stephanie Johnson, one of the award recipients and trailer park manager, declined to make any public comment about the fire on the fire or the victim.

The case remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal and the Butler County Arson Task Force. A suspect was questioned by investigators on Sunday.

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