A 19-year-old man died in an early morning house fire Saturday in Hiram.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office said Alexander Mudgett was found on the first floor of the house at the foot of the stairs. Investigators believe he was trying to escape.
Four others – two men and two women, all in their 20s – did escape by crawling out second-floor bedroom windows onto the roof and jumping to the ground. One suffered a minor leg injury,
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze around 5 a.m. by a neighbor. Investigators did not yet know how the fire started but believe it originated on the first floor or beneath the house. The structure was destroyed.
There were no working smoke detectors in the house, the Fire Marshal’s Office said.
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