Muncie Firefighter Dies in Church Fire

A Muncie firefighter died fighting a fire that collapsed the sanctuary roof of The Tabernacle of Praise Church at 2200 East Fuson Road near State Road 67, on the city’s south side Wednesday afternoon.

The Star Press reports the city firefighter killed has been preliminarily identified as 40-year-old Scott Davis.  Davis was a former fire chief at Yorktown.  He was married and the father of three children.  Delaware County Coroner Scott Hahn says an autopsy will be conducted this (Thursday) morning at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

The church caught fire just before 4 p.m. Wednesday.  Muncie Fire Department personnel raced to the scene. Neighboring volunteer fire departments supplied water via tanker trucks.  State Fire Marshal Jim Greeson says firefighters were inside the church attempting to extinguish the blaze when the sanctuary roof collapsed, possibly causing the firefighters’ death.  Greeson says officials are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire. He says investigators aren’t ruling anything out including the possibility of arson.

(From Network Indiana, The Star Press, and IPR News)