Press Release
02/08/12
Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office
(Autaugaville) “Combustibles placed too close to a space heater” in the living room likely caused the fire that killed sixteen month old Wesley Stephen Bohannon II early Monday morning (2/6/12), according to Alabama State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk. Six people were inside the home on Dutch Bend Street in Autaugaville at the time of the fire, called in around 6:00 a.m. Relatives attempted repeatedly to save the toddler to no avail. The mother, father and two sisters of the youngster were all injured in the fire and the mother remains hospitalized in Atlanta with second and third degree burns.
In the wake of this tragedy, Marshal Paulk reminds citizens to always keep space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn. Shut off or unplug heaters when you go to bed or leave your home.