Fatality was second this month in Mineral Point

Published: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:52 AM CST

MINERAL POINT — Firefighters found the body of a 29-year-old man inside a burning home early Tuesday in Mineral Point.

Washington County Sheriff Andy Skiles said the deceased man was believed to be Darrick Thurman, 29, who lived alone in the single-family, wood-framed home at 201 S. 9th Street.

Thurman’s mother and other members of the family huddled together with friends outside the burned home in the cold morning, waiting for answers and trying to comfort each other. Family members were too distraught to talk about the tragedy, but friends provided some information about Thurman, whose funeral has been scheduled for Friday afternoon at Britton Chapel in Potosi.

The fire fatality was the second one this month in Mineral Point. State fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of both blazes.

A neighbor of Thurman’s who phoned for help said she heard the popping of truck tires about 5 a.m. Tuesday and looked outside to see the home engulfed in flames.

Members of Potosi, Leadwood and De Soto Rural fire districts responded to the alarm. Neighbors told authorities that they believed Thurman was inside. Firefighters discovered the body in the living room.

At 9 a.m., steam continued to rise from the small piece of the burned roof that remained .The carport and living room had been destroyed by the fire, which left blackened timbers at the edge of the part of the structure that remained. Two trucks and a car parked next to the house had burned in the blaze, but a nearby garage appeared to have been untouched.

Thurman was going through a divorce and had three young children. Friends called him a wonderful father who loved his family very much.

“He took his kids everywhere — for walks in the woods, four-wheeling, swimming,” said a friend who arrived at the scene around dawn. “He would do anything for those kids.”

Early New Year’s morning, firefighters found the body of Marty Drennen Jr., 22, inside his burned trailer at 13209 Pond Creek Road, not far from Thurman’s home.

The fire at Drennen’s home was reported at 2:13 a.m. Jan. 1. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, the structure was fully engulfed in flames and had started to collapse.

Citizens at the scene told a deputy that someone could be inside. Firefighters found Drennen’s body as they were fighting the fire.

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