State Fire Marshal determines fatal gun range blaze accidental

NOWATA, Okla. (AP) – Fire authorities have determined a blaze that killed a man at a northeast Oklahoma gun range was accidental.

Spokesman Sam Schafnitt with the state Fire Marshal’s Office says gunfire sparked the March 13 fire at Nowata Firearms, which advertises itself as the largest indoor range in the state. Schafnitt says several rounds shot into a rubber backstop started the fire.

Sixty-six-year-old customer Leslie Hazen was killed after he ran inside the burning building to retrieve his gun. The Tulsa Word reports the state Medical Examiner’s Office hasn’t determined Hazen’s cause of death.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is still investigating.