Tulsa, OK- A 55 year old disabled man is pronounced dead after his Midtown apartment, located at 1524 S. Gillette, goes up in flames.
Tulsa Fire Department spokesperson Bill French tells us the possible cause of the fire is smoking material not being properly disposed.
French says crews arrived on scene around 9 a.m. after a woman in an adjoining unit called them saying she smelled smoke but didn't know where it was coming from. He says the victim had fallen down and was pulled from the home with severe smoke inhalation.
"It'd take him 10-15 minutes to get from the door to his car, but he'd get in that car and go like heck," said next-door neighbor, Jerry Gamster, who figures his neighbor lived a lonely life. "I kind of felt sorry for the guy. I don't think I ever saw anybody come over and visit him."
He told us about an experience he had with his disabled neighbor last summer.
"I just happened to see him over there by the bushes and he was just laying over there in the driveway and his hands were all scraped up from trying to get up," he said.
From that day on, Gamster continued to worry about him.
"After you don't see him for about a week or two you get to wondering is the guy laying on the floor and something's wrong and he can't get up."
Jerry's worst fears were realized Friday morning, when firefighters pulled Marty McCoy from his bedroom- his bed, destroyed by the flames.
He was given CPR and transported to the hospital where he later died of smoke inhalation.
Fire crews say a cigarette is likely to blame.
"We've had a rash of them lately caused by carelessly discarded cigarettes," said French.
Meanwhile, his neighbor who came to McCoy's rescue before, is upset this time no one could.
