(AUSTIN) – Indiana State Police detectives and crime scene investigators are conducting a death investigation after an early morning house fire in Austin.
Shortly before 5 a.m. today, the Jennings Township Fire Department and Austin City Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a residential fire at 45 North 4th Street.
When firefighters and officers arrived, they found the front of the home on fire and a utility shed located in the front yard completely engulfed in flames.
After extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered the body of 41-year-old Paul Ray Collins in the charred remains of the utility shed.
ISP detectives and crime scene technicians responded and investigated the case throughout the morning and afternoon, along with investigators from the Indiana State Fire Marshall’s Office, the Austin Police Department, and the Scott County Coroner.
This investigation is ongoing, and no official cause for the fire or cause of death has yet been determined.
ISP detectives and crime scene technicians were assisted by units from the Jennings Township Fire Department, the Austin City Police Department, The Scott County Sheriff’s Department, and the Scott County Coroner.
