A Loveland retiree and his adult son died from smoke inhalation Saturday night in a fire in a Loveland home that did not have smoke detectors, authorities said today.
The Larimer County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims today as 59-year-old Donald Beland and his son, Jason Beland, 35.
Donald Beland was a retired plumber and an Army veteran during the Vietnam era, said his daughter, Rebecca Beland, who said her brother was a musician who had played in local bands.
“He was a wonderful, great man,” she said of her father. “He was very warm and generous and he is really going to be missed.”
Funeral arrangements had not been finalized today.
She and her brother grew up in the home at 4103 Boxelder Drive.
“My brother was a shining, bright human being,” she said. He graduated from Loveland High School in 1993, she said.
Fire crews responded to the burning home at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Both died of severe smoke inhalation, and “there was no sign of foul play and both deaths were determined to be accidents,” according to the coroner’s report.
The Loveland Fire and Rescue Department concluded its investigation today and also determined the blaze to be accidental.
Division Chief Merlin Green said he could not elaborate on the cause of the fire until some information is verified.
“I can say that there weren’t any smoke detectors, and I certainly believe that if there had been they would have been alerted to the smoke and heat and probably had time to get out,” he said.
The fire was in the kitchen and the two men were found on the same floor in different parts of the home, he said.
“There was a lot of smoke and heat inside the home,” Green said,
Tom McGhee: (303)954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
