PATASKALA — An Ohio man has been formally charged in connection with a fire that killed his father and put a firefighter in the hospital.
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A grand jury in Licking County indicted John McKnight, 60, on involuntary manslaughter and negligent burning, our news partners at WBNS reported.
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The fire happened in February in Pataskala.
As WBNS reported, responding firefighters found a heavily involved basement fire that had moved to the first floor.
Firefighters were made aware that someone was trapped inside the home. They were able to remove the man, later identified as 84-year-old Franklin McKinght.
He was taken to a Columbus hospital, where he later died.
Two firefighters were also injured in the fire, one of whom suffered a severe burn to his ear and had to be hospitalized.
An investigation revealed that Franklin McKnight was under hospice care and in a hospital bed when the fire began. His son was his caregiver.
WBNS reported that John McKnight could be heard in the background of the 911 calls saying he accidentally started the fire with gasoline.
Prosecutors said he claimed to have poured gasoline into a plastic bowl and was pouring it on a fire inside a wood stove earlier that day. He said he tripped and knocked the bowl of gasoline into the open wood stove, which caused a “fire ball.”
As WBNS reported, officials said the fire spreading as it did was a result of John McKnight’s “dangerous actions.”
The 60-year-old is set to return to court in two weeks.
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