ROMNEY, IN — A 33-year-old woman died late July 4 in a fireworks accident inside a detached garage in the 13000 block of U.S. 231 South, which is south of Romney and north of Bennett Road.
Autopsy results indicated the woman died from burns and inhalation of combustible material, according to the Tippecanoe County coroner’s office. Her death was ruled an accident.
The coroner’s office will release the woman’s name after she is positively identified by DNA tests.
The fire started about 10:15 p.m. Friday when buckets of fireworks stored inside the garage accidentally ignited, Deputy Indiana State Fire Marshal Bill Dearing said. It is not specifically known how the fireworks were lit.
The fireworks were being stored in the garage. A safe distance away in the field north of the garage were other fireworks that they planned to set off, Dearing said, indicating that the homeowner appeared to have a responsible plan for the seasonal celebration.
Three people were inside the garage when the fireworks accidentally ignited, Dearing said.
Scott M. Provo, 46, of southeastern Tippecanoe County, was standing at the east end of the garage by the overhead door, Dearing and Tippecanoe County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Terry Ruley said. Provo escaped the garage but suffered burns. He was airlifted to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis.
The homeowner and party host, Joshua Hancock, was near the center of the garage, Dearing said. When the fireworks were touched off, he hit the floor and crawled out of his garage on his stomach. He was unharmed, Dearing said.
The woman was standing in the back of the building when the fireworks exploded, Dearing said. She did not escape the garage, which police said was destroyed in a matter of minutes.
The fire spread south to Hancock’s house, damaging it, especially on the house’s north end, Dearing said.
First responders flooded the area, first to extinguish the fire, then to treat the injured, and, lastly, to investigate the fire.
The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Tippecanoe County coroner’s office, Indiana Fire Marshal’s Office, Indiana University Health Lifeline, Randolph Township Fire Department, West Point Fire Department, Wea Township Fire Department, Clarks Hill/Laramie Township Fire Department, Coal Creek Fire Department, Tippecanoe Emergency Management Agency and Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service.
The highway was closed during the response to the fire, according to the sheriff’s department.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Woman killed in fireworks accident south of Romney
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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