Jackson County man dies in early morning house fire

A 49-year-old eastern Jackson County man died Wednesday morning while attempting to extinguish a fire inside his home.

The Jackson County sheriff’s office identified the victim as John Romanchuk.

The fire was reported about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 10500 block of South Munro Road in unincorporated Jackson County, south of Oak Grove.

Another occupant told deputies that she woke up to the sound of Romanchuk yelling for everyone to get out of the house and call 911.

After all of the residents were safely outside, she said, Romanchuk went back inside with a garden hose.

Firefighters found him unconscious in an upstairs bedroom. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although the sheriff’s office said it may have started after someone fell asleep smoking.

This story was originally published June 3, 2015 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Jackson County man dies in early morning house fire."