The victim of a house fire Friday in the 7500 block of Flora Avenue has died, Maplewood police confirmed Monday. The victim, named Jeff Papin, according to a source, was taken to the hospital Friday from the fire. The source said he died Saturday, also that he donated his body to science.
Harold Jehne and his son John, who live two houses away on Flora, said Maplewood fire and police arrived at the same time (a little before 2 p.m.), but police surrounded the house with guns drawn for several minutes before firefighters entered and removed the victim.
Harold Jehne said he suspected Papin set the fire himself. He said Papin had called his sister and told her his plans, who called police. Maplewood Fire Chief Terry Merrell said Friday that the St. Louis County Arson and Explosives Unit is investigating.
See also: One victim in house fire, arson unit to investigate
“He was an awesome dad,” John said. “You would never think anything was wrong. He always had a smile on his face. He talked to everyone. If someone walked up the street, he always waved at them.”
Harold Jehne said he hopes that any plans for a funeral will be published because the neighbors would like to attend.
John Jehne shot video from his yard of police and fire arriving.
My wife and I had known Jeff for some 20 years. Our son had the pleasure of meeting him almost 15 years ago as well. I will miss our weekend conversations we always had about things. My little buddy will be missed !
He will be missed. Rest in Peace Little Buddy !!
We will miss our friend Jeff. His wish was to make things better for Samantha. God bless his daughter. Rest in Peace my friend. You will be missed. RBW
Jeff was a good soul with a lot of love to give. I feel for his family dealing with all this unexpected pain. His father relied upon him so much, as did his baby girl. It’s very sad that a father lost his son and a little girl lost her daddy on Friday.
Why do officials think it could have been suicide?
I live next door to Jeff. It sounds cliche, but my fiance and I are shocked and saddened by this. He was a great neighbor, very friendly and seemed happy and generally laid back. I agree he seemed like a great father to his young daughter as well.
Jeff always took pride in taking impeccable care of his house and lawn. In the summer he was outside just about every day mowing his lawn or repainting his railing or landscaping his back yard or some such thing. Now, seeing the fire damage, the windows boarded up, and the broken glass and blackened siding…it pains me to think that he might have done that on purpose. I suppose we never can know what kind of psychological or emotional turmoil someone is going through, even if they seem outwardly happy.
I hope wherever he is, he’s at peace now.
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