Man dies in fatal fire in Greenfield. No working smoke alarms in home, officials said. Careless smoking is believed to be the cause. The Greenfield Fire Territory was called around midnight to the fire on the second floor of a building near West Main Street and South State Street. Monday, May 2, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — Officials with the Greenfield Fire Territory believe careless smoking was the cause of a fatal apartment fire in downtown Greenfield early Monday morning. An investigation into the fire revealed there were no working smoke alarms in the apartment, officials said.
The apartment fire was located in the upstairs of the structure at 18.5 W. Main Street, just across the street from the Greenfield Police Department. The fire claimed the life of Keith H. Myran, 53, Greenfield, GPD deputy chief, Chuck McMichael said. Myran is believed to have been the only person in the apartment at the time of the incident.
Fire Marshal for the GFT, Steve Kropacek noted there were no working smoke alarms in the apartment located above a business near the intersection of U.S. 40 and Ind. 9, in the heart of downtown Greenfield.
“An official with the (Greenfield) police department saw the smoke and called it in, and our crews got there really quick and found the man, got him out and started working on him right away, but they couldn’t save him,” Kropacek said.
Officer Kyle Vaughn was on routine patrol at approximately 12:17 a.m. when he observed smoke in the downtown area. Vaughn saw smoke coming from a second story window and attempted to find an entrance, but was not able to get anyone’s attention, McMichael said.
The GFT arrived on scene within a few minutes and was able to attack the fire where they found Myran unconscious and suffering from serious injuries consistent with heat and fire exposure, McMichael said.
While a local fire prevention ordinance calls for building landlords to provide working smoke detectors, the one device in the apartment was missing a battery.
“He had one smoke alarm in the apartment, but he had taken out the batteries,” Kropacek said.
While Myran was immediately pulled from the apartment, officials believe he was in cardiac arrest before he was transported to Hancock Regional Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.
“The smoke got to him for sure, but we’ll know more after the autopsy,” Kropacek said.
Officials do not believe there was any damage to the H&R Block business located directly below the apartment or any other buildings in the tight-nit downtown area.
“It was pretty much a hot, smoldering-type fire that was in the front of the apartment that did not go anywhere else,” Kropacek said.
No firefighters were injured during the incident or when searching for victims, officials said. Crews from the GFT, Sugar Creek, Buck Creek and Vernon Townships were on the scene for over four hours making sure everything was secure before leaving around 4:40 a.m.
Kropacek wanted to remind Greenfield and county residents of how important it is to have working smoke alarms in their residence.
“We have free smoke alarms that we provide to the residents in our community, so they can contact us if they don’t have working alarms,” Kropacek said. “We even have bed shakers for people who are hard of hearing.”
Anyone who needs a fire alarm is encouraged to call Kropacek at 317-325-1505.
