March 13, 2017
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
A Clinton man has died in an accidental fire that gutted a building in Clinton.
55-year-old Robert John Cantu died Thursday night in the vacated building full of various articles including clothing, bedding and toys.
According to the Clinton Daily News, Cantu was found dead by firefighters about midnight, 30 minutes after the fire was reported and after firefighters had arrived at the scene in the 700 block of Opal Avenue.
His body was found just inside an exterior doorway near the back side of the building. Clinton Fire Chief Forrest Valentine says the preliminary cause of death is smoke inhalation, but Cantu’s body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Oklahoma City for an official cause.
The fire marshal determined the blaze to have been accidental and inspectors say they don’t know why Cantu was inside the building Thursday night. The building had no utilities hooked up to it.
The city’s building inspector had just visited with Cantu earlier in the day on Thursday to tell him to get the place cleaned up. It was reportedly full of stuff, three to four feet deep that made fighting the blaze more difficult. Fire units were on the scene of the fire until about 4 am.
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