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SAPULPA -- Fire officials on Monday identified the male victim of a Saturday fire at the Linden Street Christian Church, which was still recovering from the collspse of air ducts in the main sanctuary earlier this year.
Bart Stansbury, 33, was found dead of apparent smoke inhalation in a small apartment above the church at 919 E. Lee St., Fire Marshal Don Acree said.
The fire was caused by discarded smoking material on a mattress, Acree said.
The fire was spotted about 6 a.m. Saturday by a passer-by who immediately notified the Central Fire Station a block away.
Capt. Danny Whitehouse said he called in units from three stations to the fire. Once firefighters had the fire out in the upstairs apartment and found a body, they turned the site over to Sapulpa police, he said.
Smoke damage was estimated at $75,000, Acree said.
Stansbury had been living in the upstairs unit temporarily, said his father, Larry, a church elder. Bart Stansbury worked at the Bank of Oklahoma research division in Tulsa, he said.
Services are set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Sapulpa Methodist Church on Oklahoma 117. Stansbury is survived by three children, his parents, a brother and a sister.
The elder Stansbury said his son was staying in the church as a caretaker while the church recovered after its air-conditioning duct work collapsed March 24.
From "The Sapulpa Herald," Monday, May 12, 2003
From Staff Reports
The victim of Saturday morning's fatal fire at the Linden Street Christian Church has been identified as Bart J. Stansbury, 33, of Sapulpa.
Sapulpa Fire Marshall Don Acree said the fire appeared to have started at the church, located at 919 E. Lee, from smoking materials on the bed located on the second floor of the church building.
Acree said although the state Medical Examiner has not formally ruled, Stansbury is believed to have died from smoke inhalation.
"The bed smoldered for quite a while," Acree said.
Firefighters were alerted when a passerby spotted the smoke and came to the Central Fire Station, 600 E. Dewey.
"We did not see anything abnormal," he said. "The door was secured from the inside."
Firefighters said fire damage was mostly confined to the area around the room and the roof.
"The church did sustain quite a bit of smoke damage," Acree said.
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