Anthony wrote:
Reading the paper this morning, came across this front-page item:

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_ne...347_3798434,00.
html


Bugmenot.com rocks.. They keep all sorts of usernames/passwords for such
situations.

Here's the article-

A West Knox County man died in a fire Sunday afternoon in his garage,
authorities said.

The man, identified by neighbors as James Howe of 300 Essex Drive, had
just bought a five-gallon can of gasoline and was working on a pickup
truck in his basement garage in the Seven Oaks subdivision when the fire
broke out.


"His garage was all full of equipment," said Herschel Shirley, who lives
directly across the street from the house shared by Howe and his wife,
Clara Howe. "He was very mechanically minded, and he had to be working
on something all the time."

Howe, who was in his early 80s, had just returned from a trip to buy
gasoline for his lawnmower but had also been trying to fix "a power
problem in his truck," Shirley said.

Shirley said he was sitting outside reading a newspaper when smoke began
boiling out of the basement garage just after 6 p.m.

"I heard Mrs. Howe hollering. She had a water hose in her hand and was
trying to get into the garage," Shirley said. "I told my wife to call
emergency services."

As James Howe cried for help, Shirley and the victim's wife tried
repeatedly to make their way into the garage to pull him to safety.

"I tried to get in there, but the smoke and flames were so much," he
said. "I couldn't see an inch in front of my eyes."

Shirley's wife, Elizabeth Shirley, said she called 911 as he started
going through the neighborhood in search of help.

Rural/Metro firefighters received the call at 6:12 p.m. and reached the
scene seven minutes later, according to Capt. Jeff Devlin. Seven fire
trucks, two ambulances and several Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies
eventually responded, he said.

By the time firefighters arrived, he said, they were too late to save Howe.

"It's frustrating to us," Devlin said.

No one else was injured, he said.

The two-story brick house suffered extensive damage. The basement garage
was gutted by the blaze, and two vehicles that had been parked inside
were destroyed. Upstairs, windows had been knocked out, and there were
clear signs of fire and smoke damage to the home's interior.

The Sheriff's Office and the Knox County Fire Bureau were investigating
the blaze, Devlin said.

While officials hadn't determined what caused the fire, Devlin said
people should always keep safety foremost in their minds when working
around flammable liquids.

"A fire can double in size every minute in some circumstances, and there
were about seven minutes between the call and the arrival of the first
unit," he said. "It's so critical to call 911 immediately."

As firefighters began sifting through the rubble and deputies secured
the scene with tape, Shirley stood in his front yard and mourned the
loss of his neighbor.

"It's a horrible thing to happen, a horrible thing to happen to his
wife," Shirley said. "She's such a nice lady. It's tragic for the whole
neighborhood."