Two Poplar Bluff boys die in Sunday house fire

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Sunday morning fire that claimed the lives of two Poplar Bluff boys is believed to be accidental.

Kyle Dicken, 16, and Dylane Campbell, 12, were found dead inside the bedroom of their 115 Relief St. home, according to Butler County Coroner Jim Akers, who was called at 2:55 a.m.

"We estimated the time of death around 2:30 a.m.," Akers said. "The bodies were examined, and [after] consultation with a child death pathologist, we determined autopsies were not needed."

The boys, Akers said, died of complications from smoke inhalation, and their manner of death is accidental.

Within five minutes of arrival, fire chief Ralph Stucker said, firefighters were able to make entry.

"They had to control the fire before they could get in," he said. "The fire was coming out pretty much the entire house, except the western side of it."

Two adults, Rebecca Cox and James Dicken, and a girl were able to escape the home, Stucker said.

"They were in the front, western side of the house; they were on the opposite corner of the house," he said.

It appears from "what was seen, the boys were trying to get out," said Stucker, who described a north-south hallway running off the boys' bedroom. The north hallway, he said, runs into the kitchen and to the back door.

James Dicken, Stucker said, tried to get back in to his son and Cox's son, but "the heat and smoke were too bad; he wasn't able to get in to them."

Akers said he, Jason Dunn, an investigator with the state fire marshal's office, and Kenny Carpenter, a detective with the Poplar Bluff Police Department, are conducting a joint investigation.

"All indications are the fire was an accidental fire; there are no indications of foul play" or an intentional act, Akers said.

Stucker agreed.

"It's accidental; we can't rule out electrical issues," Stucker said.

What officials do know is there were no working smoke detectors in the home, which was being remodeled after last year's spring flooding, said Stucker. "This family has been through a really rough deal," he said.

A child death review panel, according to Akers, will be held, and its members already have been contacted. The panel is held anytime someone under 18 dies, and it "looks to see if there were any red flags, anything we can learn from this to prevent another child death," Akers said.

For those who are unable to afford a smoke detector, Stucker said, the fire department will provide a free one to any household in the city. The detectors may be picked up at the Broadway fire station.

Pertinent address:

115 Relief St., Poplar Bluff, MO