A fast-moving fire early Friday killed a retired farmer and critically injured his wife in their ranch home in the Genesee County community of Byron.
Warren Leaton, 90, a lifelong Byron resident who was a dairy and cash-crop farmer, was discovered dead on the kitchen floor of the smoke-filled home at 6920 Caswell Road shortly after Byron firefighters arrived just after 2 a.m., Fire Chief Charles Durkee said.
Noreen Leaton, 84, a former Byron town clerk, was alert and talking when firefighters rescued her from a breezeway in the home, Durkee said. She remains in critical condition in the intensive-care unit of United Memorial Medical Center, Batavia.
Officials said frozen rain, a lack of nearby water sources and a fallen power line hampered firefighting efforts. Firefighters from several area companies battled the blaze, which was brought under control in about an hour. Genesee County authorities were alerted to the blaze shortly after 2 a.m.
Durkee said the cause of the fire, which originated in the living room, remains under investigation but does not appear to be suspicious.
The house was declared a total loss.
The investigation is being conducted by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, state Office of Fire Prevention Services and Genesee County’s Emergency Management Office
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
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