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NEWS AND EVENTS
A 30-year-old Gardner man died November 19 of injuries he sustained during an explosion and fire at his home in 900 block of Wildcat Run. According to the Gardner Public Safety Department, Devin R. Smith was lacquering kitchen cabinets without adequate ventilation November 18 when fumes built up and were ignited by a water heater or furnace. Smith was alone with his two dogs in the duplex at the time of the explosion. Both animals also died. He was transported to a hospital with critical injuries and died the following day. No one was injured in the adjoining duplex unit. Neighbor Jamie Forkell said Smith, who lived in the duplex with his wife and young daughter, was well-liked in the neighborhood. "All the neighborhood kids loved to come over to see him," she said. "He was like the the neighborhood father in the cu-de-sac. He was friends with everybody. "He was very popular with all the neighbors, everybody thought he was the greatest thing. They say he a kind and generous heart." Kenneth Francis, director of the Gardner Public Safety Department, said Smith worked as a painter.
Forkell said the neighbor left with the child shortly before the explosion happened. It took firefighters from the Gardner Public Safety Office and Johnson County Fire District #1 and hour and 20 minutes to bring the fire under control. Damage to the duplex and its contents is estimated at $175,000. A memorial fund has been established for Smith's widow and daughter, who lost all their belongings in the fire. Contributions to the Devin Smith Memorial Fund can be sent to First Kansas Bank, P.O. Box 67, Gardner, KS 66030. |
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House fire kills Gardner man 
He said Smith's wife was at work at the time of the explosion, and he asked a neighbor to look after his 2-year-old daughter while he sprayed lacquer.