KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Firefighters pulled a disabled man from his burning home in North Knoxville Sunday after a neighbor tried in vain to attempt a rescue himself.
"I tried all I could to get in there and get him," said Richard Ingram, who broke out a window and attempted to reach his neighbor through the flames at 1508 Coker Ave. "I got about halfway in the living room and that smoke just about killed me."
A passer-by called E-911 shortly after 4 p.m. as smoke was seen billowing from the home's attic.
The flames appear to have started in the rear of the house, between the kitchen and a bedroom, said Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran. Fire crews located the victim nearby, he said.
The man was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. His condition was not immediately available.
Neighbors identified the victim as Bill Thompson, 62, who they said lived alone in the home just off Broadway. Authorities have yet to confirm the man's identity.
Ingram said his neighbor was recovering from a broken hip and had limited mobility.
No smoke detectors were found inside the house, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation, Corcoran added.
Police investigated a reported home invasion at the same address in October 2011. The resident told investigators that four men broke into the house overnight and threatened to kill him if he did not give them money. The intruders then beat him and ransacked the home. Police said he wasn't found until later that morning when a neighbor came to check on him and discovered the man lying on the living room floor.
Copyright 2012 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
