Fire kills Bollinger County man

A Bollinger County man died in a fire early Friday which swept through his home near Arab, Mo.

David Stephens, 56, died of smoke inhalation, fire officials said. His wife, Janette, managed to escape without injury.

An Advance, Mo., firefighter spotted the blaze around 4 a.m., said Calvin Troxell, a Bollinger County fire investigator and assistant fire chief for Marble Hill Fire and Rescue.

The home -- a mobile home which had been reworked with two additions -- was engulfed in flames, Troxell said. "It just burned like a paper box," he said.

Rod Hoelscher, an investigator with the state fire marshal's office, said the fire destroyed the home. He said the cause of the blaze wasn't determined but appeared to be accidental.