Two bodies removed from scene of overnight fire in Garden City
CRANSTON — Firefighters found two bodies early Friday morning when they went to a Garden City house to battle a fire.
The flames that had attacked the home on Whitewood Drive — not far from Reservoir Avenue — were visible from points along Pontiac Avenue.
Firefighters found one of the bodies just inside the front door after they went to 35 Whitewood Drive at 2:40 a.m., Fire Chief James Warren said.
In the fire's aftermath, the Office of the Medical Examiner removed two bodies from the scene, said Warren, who did not identify either person by name or gender.
Both deaths remain the focus of an investigation by city and state fire marshals as well as Cranston police.
Warren referred to the deaths as "under investigation" when asked if authorities regard them as suspicious.
Warren made no comment on the cause of the fire, although he acknowledged that investigators are looking at the possibility that the blaze might have burned for quite a while before firefighters were alerted.
"It was probably going quite a bit before they got here," he said.
"I know they had heavy fire and heavy smoke when they arrived on scene," he added. "The trucks coming down from Pontiac Avenue could see it in the sky."
The first firefighters at the scene, from a local firehouse in Garden City, had to break into the house to gain entry, Warren said. It took about an hour to extinguish the fire.
None of the 35 firefighters at the scene were injured.
The three-bedroom split-level home was built in 1960. Three vehicles remained on the property Friday, two in the garage and another in the driveway.
In 2019, Cranston police went to the house, arrested Andrew Jeremiah and charged him with felony assault on a person over 60, according to a report provided by Cranston police Chief Michael J. Winquist in response to an information request.
The report says Jeremiah had assaulted his brother with a cane.
It was not clear Friday if the Jeremiah brothers, both elderly, were the victims of the fire.
Winquist said he was unable to comment, emphasizing that fire marshals are leading the investigation.
Rhode Island State Fire Marshal Tim McLaughlin said he could not comment on the identities of the two people.
The listed owner of the home is Andrew Jeremiah's brother, Bruce.
The two brothers have a colorful history.
In 2014, the Central Falls businessmen were accused of participating in a conspiracy that involved the theft and sale of used cooking oil from restaurants.
Their grease caper was covered by CBS News. Federal prosecutors said the scheme, which involved a third defendant, had siphoned thousands of gallons of used cooking oil from scores of area restaurants and sold it to be refined into biodiesel fuel.
They were sentenced to six months of home confinement followed by probation.
The brothers, cousins of the late Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr., chief judge of Rhode Island Family Court at one point, were not seen in the neighborhood Friday.
A 65-year-old Providence man who stopped by the scene was shocked by the turn of events.
Lee Goldberger said the brothers frequently call him for help, often with matters involving cars.
Andrew Jeremiah called last week looking for a ride, Goldberger said.
The men have no children, he said, and to see the house burnt out is very sad.
"It's very disappointing to see," he said. "I just found out about it."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Two bodies removed from Whitewood Drive home in Cranston after fire
