COLUMBUS, Ohio — Food left unattended on a stove caused a fire where firefighter Daryl Gordon died in March.
Cincinnati.com reported that Gordon, a fire apparatus officer, was searching an apartment building for people trapped by the fire when he fell down an open elevator shaft. He became wedged between an elevator car and a wall.
The Cincinnati Fire Department’s Fire Investigation Unit classified the cause of the fire as accidental, according to the report.
The fire originated atop an electric stove. The food caught fire after a 54-year-old resident using the stove fell asleep.
Gordon’s death was the first line-of-duty fatality involving a Cincinnati firefighter in almost seven years, according to the report.
The total estimated damage from the fire is $250,000.