LORAIN – A 39-year-old man was killed March 9 in an early morning fire, according to fire officials. Lonnie Mullett died of smoke inhalation and thermal burns sustained during the fire, according to Dr. Stephen Evans, Lorain County coroner. The Lorain Fire Department responded to a 3:23 a.m. call about heavy smoke coming from the first floor of a duplex located at 418 Kentucky Ave., according to assistant Chief Gary Burls. When firefighters arrived on scene at 3:28 a.m., Burls said heavy fire was billowing from the rear kitchen window. Firefighters advanced a hand line into the first floor of the duplex to combat the fire while search crew members made a sweep of the second floor for occupants, Burls said. A search of the second floor did not locate any occupants; it did discover an extension of the fire through the walls – forcing firefighters to extend extinguishing efforts upstairs. Burls said Mullett was located in a small room off of the living room of the duplex. The man was removed from the unit, CPR was administered by crew members and the victim was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Burls said. The fire was investigated by the fire marshal, Burls said. An initial observation showed it started in the kitchen because of ‘probable unattended’ cooking on the stove. The adjacent unit was occupied at the time of the fire Burls said, but a ‘substantial firewall’ between the two units prevented the fire from spreading. The occupants left the neighboring unit after the fire according to Burls, although the utilities were functional and there was no damage as a result of the fire.
