Huntington Civic Leader Pyle Dies in House Fire

A well-known community volunteer and director of the Miss Huntington scholarship pageant has died in a house fire. According to a news release from the Huntington Fire Department, firefighters found Stephanie Pyle, 45, with no vital signs in an upstairs bedroom. They had responded at 10:17 p.m. Thursday to a report of smoke coming from the windows of the house on Huntington’s northwest side. It took approximately 20 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the fire. According to the news release, an investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s office ruled the fire accidental. The investigator reported that he could not rule out improperly discarded smoking material in an office in the home as the cause of the fire. The Huntington County Coroner ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death. In addition to serving as director of the Miss Huntington pageant, Pyle had volunteered on many charitable boards and projects in the community.