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Local News Story
Elderly Gaston man killed in fire, smoking material blamed
CHARLOTTE, 10.07.2009
CHRIS MILLER, WBT NEWS
A 79-year-old Gaston County man was killed early Wednesday when his home went up in flames.
Investigators said discarded smoking material sparked the pre-dawn fire on Ridge Street off Highway 321 in South Gastonia.
Neighbors identified the victim as Willie Spearman.
"The whole house was engulfed," said neighbor Greg Schaeffer. "It was shooting out the roof, the chimney, the whole back of the house."
Investigators later said the fire began in the kitchen, where they found Spearman's body.
When the first fire crews arrived on the scene around 5:30 a.m. they found Spearman's son searching for his father in the thick smoke billowing out of the one-story home.
Neighbors heard several blasts during the fire. They speculated it was the sound of Spearman's oxygen tanks exploding from the intense heat.
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