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Haskell man dies during house fire |
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Tuesday, 23 December 2008 |
Buddy Carter, 58, of Haskell died early Saturday when he re-entered his burning house to retrieve clothes, authorities said.
Witnesses told Haskell Fire Chief Brian Cotten that there was an explosion inside the one-story wood house after Carter re-entered it shortly before 2 a.m.
Saline County sheriff's Capt. Scotty Courtney said it appears the fire started after a cigarette was put out on an ottoman inside the house at 212 E. Elm St.
No other injuries were reported. Carter's wife, Becky, and another person, who was not identified, made it out of the house safely, authorities said.
Haskell firefighters responded around 2 a.m., Cotten said, and the house "had heavy smoke coming out of it."
Eleven Haskell firefighters responded, along with 10 from the Turtle Creek, Traskwood and Lonsdale volunteer fire departments, Cotten said.
"A bystander said [Carter] went back inside to get his clothes and there was an explosion," the fire chief said. "We contacted central communications to tell them there was a victim inside and they had Med-Tran [ambulance] en route.
"We made entry with a rescue team and an attack line, located the victim and removed him from the structure and then extinguished the fire."
The fire was extinguished with fewer than 200 gallons of water, Cotten said, adding: "We left the scene at 4:16 this morning."
The investigation was turned over to the sheriff's office and Detective Aaron Washington determined the cause of the fire, Courtney said.
"From what we gathered, there normally is an ashtray on the ottoman and it wasn't there," Courtney said. "It was an accidental fire cause."
The house was not destroyed, Courtney said, but suffered major smoke and water damage. Courtney said the tragedy is a reminder for people to be careful with cigarettes.
"Anytime we have something like this, it's very sad," he said, "but people need to be extremely careful with cigarettes and make sure they put them out. Things like this are rare, but they do happen."
Other major fires that occurred in Haskell this year include an explosion in October at a vacant house off Arkansas 229 and a fire that damaged four homes in January off Willow Point.
Cotten emphasized a common fire tip. "Get out of a house that's on fire and do not go back for any reason," he said.
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