Knox Fire Victim Dies at Fort Wayne Hospital

A neighbor took this photo at 7:50 a.m. Friday.
A neighbor took this photo at 7:50 a.m. Friday.

A second victim of a Friday fire at a rural Knox home has died. Officials with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department advise WKVI News Linda Manns, 51, died Saturday at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.

Attempts to contact the Allen County Coroner’s Office by telephone for information were unsuccessful. Their office does not reopen until Monday, and an Allen County dispatcher advised they could not be reached outside of business hours. A spokesman for Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne could not provide any information due to federal privacy laws. As soon as we have more information, we will update our story.

Lucas F. Fisher, 2, was killed in the fire. The Bass Lake-California Township Volunteer Fire Department responded around 7:30 a.m. Friday to a home in the area of 700 South and 300 East. Officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department tell WKVI News Carl Manns escaped from the home but was injured trying to rescue his wife, Linda. Firefighters were unable to find Fisher in time. His mother, Carllin Manns, was not involved in the fire, according to sheriff’s department officials. Carl Manns is also hospitalized in Fort Wayne, but information about his condition is not available from the hospital this morning.

An autopsy will be conducted on Fisher, and details about his cause of death will be released once the procedure is complete.

An investigator from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office has tentatively ruled the fire accidental, but it is still under investigation. The North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department, Starke County EMS and Starke County Sheriff’s Department all assisted. Dispatchers with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department advise the fire department left at 1:11 p.m. Friday.