60-year-old man identified as house fire victim near West Richland
A 60-year-old man has been identified as Monday’s victim of a fire near West Richland.
The Benton County Coroner’s Office confirmed Gary Booker died in the fire that started about 4:30 a.m. at a home on the 21000 block of East Ruppert Road between West Richland and Benton City.
Preliminary results show Booker died from asphyxiation because of the fire, Coroner Bill Leach said. There was no sign of foul play.
Other family members managed to get outside but didn’t immediately know if he was home at the time of the fire.
When firefighters arrived, the double-wide mobile home was engulfed in flames.
Firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading, but weren’t able to search for Booker inside until the afternoon because the floor and roof were dangerously unstable, said Benton County Fire District 4 Chief Paul Carlyle.
Booker’s nephew Joseph Sherry set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses and to help the other relatives who lost their home.
A family friend commenting on the campaign called the death heartbreaking and that Booker had so much life left to live.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:56 PM.