East Alton – Officials release the name of the man that lost his life in the storage unit fire Tuesday morning in East Alton. 55-year-old James A Huch, a homeless man from the East Alton area, died as a result of the fire.
Police officials said there is nothing to suggest his death was criminal in nature. It is believed Huch was dropped off at the storage facility shortly after midnight, and the fire call came in about an hour later.
68-year-old Paula M. Vinyard of the 200 block of Old Barn Road in Carrollton was charged with Obstructing Justice. She is currently being held at the Madison County Jail in Edwardsville. She is accused of providing false and conflicting information to investigators.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they found several storage units on fire. Firefighters were able to get it under control pretty quickly before more damage could be done.
Due to the large fire a Box-Alarm was struck. Wood River, Roxana, Alton, and Rosewood Heights responded to the scene. Bethalto responded to man East Alton station. Madison County Emergency Managment also was on scene with the command post.
