Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 12, 1993 TAG: 9310120145
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Authorities had not identified the victim Monday night, but neighbors and friends feared it was a paralyzed woman who lived in the Chapman Avenue Southwest house.
Thomas Leffel, a 66-year-old man who escaped from the burning house, was flown to the burn center at the University of Virginia Hospital.
A hospital spokesman said Monday night that Leffel was in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns.
Authorities were trying to determine what started the fire, which broke out shortly before 4 p.m. at 1218 Chapman Ave. S.W., according to District Chief Bobbie Slayton of the Roanoke Fire Department.
By the time firefighters arrived, there was little that could be done. Flames were shooting from second-story windows, fed by asphalt-based siding that covered the old house.
Slayton said the fire apparently had been burning for some time before the first call was received at the city's 911 center from a convenience store.
"It got a pretty good jump on us," he said.
Relatives had feared that other family members might have been trapped in the fire, but Slayton said the house had been checked at least five times. "Everybody has been accounted for," he said.
Clayton Biller, who passed by on his way home from work, said he saw a man - apparently Leffel - run from the flaming house, his face and back seriously burned.
"He was just screaming: `My baby's in there. My baby's in there,' " Biller said.
Frank Andrews, who had come running from a convenience store, said he tried to kick the front door open, but could not. Authorities later found the woman's body just inside the door.
Standing at the perimeter of a crowd that circled the house, Andrews said he was trying to avoid any contact with authorities or television cameras.
"I'm not looking for any glory," he said. "If it was my family, I'd want somebody to do the same thing."
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB