Arthur died in a fire on January 21, 2001 saving his family and a friend. He is a true hero and will not be forgotten. For the complete story visit http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/012201/upd_075-6729.shtml
HALTOM CITY, Texas {AP} — A 20-year-old man died in a mobile home fire early Sunday, moments after alerting six others inside that flames were consuming the home.
Arthur "Art" Lee Marple went through the house helping his family out before trying to leave himself.
He was inches away from safety when he apparently became disoriented from smoke and fell back from the front door of his family's mobile home, said Haltom City fire Capt. Wes Rhodes.
Heat and the intensity of the blaze prevented firefighters from reaching the victim until the flames were all but extinguished.
Marple's efforts saved his parents, three siblings and a family friend, Rhodes said.
The young man's father, Albert Marple, said he was standing near the mobile home when he heard his son scream.
"I tried to get to him," Marple said, brushing away tears. "I kicked in the window. But I couldn't find him, and then I didn't hear anything else."
An electrical short in wiring in the wall caused the fire, which began around 5:35 a.m., Rhodes said.
The home had at least one working smoke detector, Rhodes said.
Marple was a 1998 graduate of Castleberry High School and drove a truck for a living, friends said.
Two of the children, Joshua, 12, and Matt, 16, were treated for smoke inhalation and later released from Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The victim's mother, Lillie, 39, was also treated for smoke inhalation. She was released Sunday from North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills. Her husband, 2-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and a friend who had spent the night were not injured
Arthur died in a fire on January 21, 2001 saving his family and a friend. He is a true hero and will not be forgotten. For the complete story visit http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/012201/upd_075-6729.shtml
Quinton "Paul" Woolsey
Just in case the article ever gets taken down, I am copying it here so we will always have it.Monday, January 22, 2001
Last modified at 11:48 a.m. on Monday, January 22, 2001
© 2001 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Man dies after his warning saves parents, three siblings and a family friend from the blaze
Associated Press
HALTOM CITY, Texas {AP} — A 20-year-old man died in a mobile home fire early Sunday, moments after alerting six others inside that flames were consuming the home.
Arthur "Art" Lee Marple went through the house helping his family out before trying to leave himself.
He was inches away from safety when he apparently became disoriented from smoke and fell back from the front door of his family's mobile home, said Haltom City fire Capt. Wes Rhodes.
Heat and the intensity of the blaze prevented firefighters from reaching the victim until the flames were all but extinguished.
Marple's efforts saved his parents, three siblings and a family friend, Rhodes said.
The young man's father, Albert Marple, said he was standing near the mobile home when he heard his son scream.
"I tried to get to him," Marple said, brushing away tears. "I kicked in the window. But I couldn't find him, and then I didn't hear anything else."
An electrical short in wiring in the wall caused the fire, which began around 5:35 a.m., Rhodes said.
The home had at least one working smoke detector, Rhodes said.
Marple was a 1998 graduate of Castleberry High School and drove a truck for a living, friends said.
Two of the children, Joshua, 12, and Matt, 16, were treated for smoke inhalation and later released from Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The victim's mother, Lillie, 39, was also treated for smoke inhalation. She was released Sunday from North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills. Her husband, 2-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and a friend who had spent the night were not injured