MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. --
Gaston County fire officials are investigating to determine what caused a house fire that killed an elderly couple Monday afternoon. The first firefighters on scene reported heavy fire at the front of Roy and Gloria Farmer's home on Pine Street in Mt Holly.
Sue Benfield lives next door to the Farmers. Benfield said, at first, she thought Roy was burning tires. "Then I looked and said, the house is on fire," she recalled.
Another neighbor, Barbara Drum, said when Benfield saw the smoke "he threw down his blower that he was blowing the yard with and rushed right through the flames."
Investigators found Roy Farmer just inside the home. EMS took him to the hospital where he died.
Firefighters found the body of his wife, Gloria, who was wheelchair-bound, in the living room near where the fire started.
Benfield said her son ran to the side door and tried to get inside but couldn't. "So he broke the window out and was going in and he couldn't because the smoke was coming out so bad," she said.
Neighbors say the couple-both in their early 70s-were very close. "He took care of her," said Drum. "He was such a loving caring man."
Pastor Mike Forrester said he believes Roy's actions Monday were the ultimate sign of devotion. "I believe the purpose was if she was going somewhere, she was not going without him," Forrester said.
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