Investigators from state and federal agencies remained for more than a day at the scene of a house fire that resulted in the death of whom authorities believe was Iolan Charles Burton Thursday morning.
There appears to be no criminal wrongdoing, Iola Police Chief Jared Warner said.
The state fire marshal’s office has not yet released the cause of the fire, which started in the pre-dawn hours Thursday at 1218 N. Buckeye St.
Burton lived alone in the house. Warner said the body was taken to Topeka for an autopsy for positive identification.
Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office, an arson investigator Topeka, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were at the scene into Friday.
The large number of investigators was more than would normally be called, Warner acknowledged, “but those are the ones who responded” from a single call to the state fire marshal’s office.
“We certainly appreciated all of their help,” Warner said. “They helped speed up the process.”
Warner noted that “volumes” of debris cluttered the interior of the house and adjoining garage, complicating both firefighting efforts, and the investigation.
The investigation was completed Friday afternoon.
