Dec. 07--LINCOLN COUNTY -- A 71-year-old man was killed in a mobile home fire early Friday that officials believe may have been caused by the man smoking in bed.
The deceased, Robert H. Voorheis Sr., lived in the 500 block of Blackmore Road near Foley.
According to fire officials, Voorheis' son, who lives next door, called his dad Friday morning, but the phone was not working. When he went to his dad's home, he found him on the floor near a bed that had been consumed by fire.
Firefighters arrived about 9 a.m. The inside of the mobile home had sustained moderate to heavy smoke damage throughout, but the fire had gone out several hours before the 911 call.
Barry Nuss, spokesman for the Lincoln County Fire Protection District, said usually a fire that involves a mattress is more of a fast-flaming fire because mattresses are high in petroleum products.
"But a lot of times with smoking-related fires, we see smoldering fires to where there's high heat but very little flame, and we think that's what happened in this case," he said.
Smoking materials were found nearby, and family members said that Voorheis had smoked in bed, Nuss said. No working smoke alarms were in the home.
The official cause of death will be determined by the Lincoln County coroner, but smoke inhalation is believed to have been a primary factor, Nuss said.
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