Fort Worth Investigators: Double-Fatal Fire Was Set

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Fire investigators ruled that an arsonist started a blaze Saturday night that killed a 90-year-old man and his 67-year-old nephew who used a wheelchair, authorities said Sunday afternoon.

Fire Capt. Tom Crow gave no other details on the investigation Sunday.

"As a result, both the fire and police departments are now involved in a criminal investigation," Crow said in an email Sunday afternoon.

It was unknown what prompted fire officials to classify the blaze as arson or whether anyone was seen near the scene prior to the fire.

The Tarrant County medical examiner's office had not identified the victims, but family members at the scene Sunday afternoon said the older man was Bobby Hubbard, who owned the house, and Thomas Wheat Jr., his nephew. Hubbard was a well-known restaurant/nightclub owner and Wheat was one of the first African-American banking officials in Tarrant County.

"They watched out for each other," said Deondra Jenkins of Arlington, a niece of Wheat. "We were here til 2 a.m. this morning (after the fire) and we still don't really know what happened to them."

Wheat had to use a wheelchair because of spinal problems, Jenkins said.

On Sunday afternoon, family members were shifting through debris at Hubbard's home in the 4500 block of Moorview Avenue in southeast Fort Worth, just a few blocks from a fire station on Wilbarger Street.

Neighbors said another blaze broke out on Moorview a few hours before the fatal fire, but information was not available Sunday on that fire.

Firefighters were called to the scene of the fatal fire at 7:57 p.m., according fire reports.

When they arrived, they found smoke coming from the attic and a fire in the rear of the house with heavy smoke inside, he said.

"I saw flashing lights and I looked outside," said neighbor Sue Walker. "I looked at Mr. Bobby's house and I didn't see any flames, but there was lots and lots of smoke."

The victims were found inside. Although emergency crews began resuscitation efforts, lifesaving efforts were halted at the scene, Crow said.

Hubbard was part owner of the China Doll on Rosedale Street. Wheat was a vice president at First National Bank in Fort Worth in the 1970s, family members said.

Staff writer Susan McFarland contributed to this report.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service