Man found dead after Tacoma house fire has been identified
A 64-year-old man found dead inside his Tacoma house after a fire last month has been identified.
John Keplinger died of ischemic heart disease, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
It appears he was not able to get out of the home when a fire broke out Feb. 27 in the 9400 block of East E Street.
Firefighters put out the blaze at 11:23 p.m. and found Keplinger’s body inside.
The fire’s cause is still under investigation, but department spokesman Joe Meinecke said the preliminary cause appears to be “smoking materials igniting combustibles.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 10:52 AM.
Stacia Glenn
The News Tribune