Obese man dies in home fire; rescuers struggled to save victim

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A fire broke out in a mobile home Saturday, killing an obese, bedridden man, and injuring two firefighters who struggled to save him.

Timothy Lee Morris, 45, called 911 from his home when it caught fire about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, fire officials said. His daughters, ages 8 and 13, fled the fire and ran to neighbors, pleading for them to help free their father, who was described as weighing more than 600 pounds.

"He was in the front room. We tried and tried to yank him out," said neighbor Clinton Turner. "He kept saying, 'Help,' but we couldn't get him out. We tried until the fire department and ambulance got here."

The children's mother was not home at the time of the fire.

Two firefighters, a police officer and two maintenance men from the mobile home park tried to save Morris, who couldn't walk and was homebound.

"The firefighters were very emotionally distraught they couldn't get him out," battalion chief John Nelson said. The firefighters were taken to Heartland Regional Medical Center for treatment of heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. Both were treated and released.

St. Joseph Police Department Officer Pat Martin said first-responders eventually were able to put Morris on a backboard and slide him out the front door. Morris suffered from several health problems, including breathing complications.

"Timmy probably didn't get burned at all," Nelson said. "He probably died from smoke inhalation."

The official cause of Morris' death was not released. An electrical short near a bedroom breaker box was listed as the cause of the fire, which destroyed the home.

John Starr, a maintenance worker for the mobile home park, said he often stopped by to see Morris.

"He was a good ol' boy," Starr said. "Every time we were in there, he was always giving us things."