Cape fires sparked by gas, lightning

Fire caused damage at two Cape Girardeau homes Saturday -- one the result of a mentally handicapped man playing with gasoline, and the other the effect of lightning that smoldered for 24 hours before moderately damaging the home of an area priest who was out of town.

In the first case, firefighters responded to a call at 3:29 p.m. to a blaze at 1015 S. Ellis. When they got there, a badly burned 21-year-old man was in the yard on his knees, yelling in agony as Orlando Lumas, who investigators called his "caregiver," held him and neighbors looked on helplessly.

The victim had burns on his right arm as well as circular spots on both legs where skin had been burned away. His blue-jean shorts were also charred.

The man, who authorities would not identify, was taken to St. Francis Medical Center, where he was treated for second-degree burns. The hospital, citing new confidentiality laws, would not release his condition late Saturday night.

According to Cape Girardeau Fire Department battalion chief Tom Hinkebein, the man had been left unattended in the basement of the home where he and Lumas were visiting resident Wahkuna Dixon and her two small children.

After Dixon and Lumas went upstairs to cook some food, the man apparently began splashing gasoline that had been left near a lawn mower, some of which got on the victim, Hinkebein said.

When a water heater kicked in, Hinkebein said there was a "flash," which ignited some mattresses and burned the victim. When the resident and Lumas smelled smoke, Hinkebein said the caregiver tried to get downstairs but couldn't because of heavy smoke.

Lumas went around to a side window, knocked it out and yelled for the victim to come to him. When the victim complied, Lumas pulled the man out of the house.

"It could have been a lot worse if he hadn't gotten out of the basement," Hinkebein said. "He could not have lasted much longer with that much smoke in there."

The victim apparently told ambulance drivers what happened, who then told authorities, Hinkebein said.

Hinkebein said most of the damage to the residence was limited to the basement area. He said the house didn't actually catch fire, but the house suffered some smoke and water damage.

"The only things we put out were the mattresses," Hinkebein said.

Hinkebein said the official cause of the fire was "improper use of gasoline," which he said "shouldn't have been in the house."

The second fire was at the home of the Rev. J. Friedel, the Catholic priest who runs the Newman Center on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Friedel lives in a house owned by the regional diocese at 2602 Perryville Road. Friedel was out of town, attending the graduation of a family friend in Springfield, Mo.

Judy St. John, a friend of Friedel, stopped by Saturday afternoon to feed his fish. She walked into a room "hazy" with smoke.

"I walked in and smelled smoke," she said. "I thought, 'Oh my God.' I picked up his phone, but it had no dial tone. I ran out to my car, grabbed my cell phone and called the fire department."

Watching the smoky house, she said: "It's a shame."

Hinkebein said Friedel's house caught fire after lightning struck the home during a storm sometime Friday.

"It smoldered all day," he said. "The lightning actually hit a tree behind the house."

Describing the incident, Hinkebein said the electricity somehow found its way to the home. The lightning blew an outside telephone box 30 feet out in the yard. The fire started in the bathroom, above the ceiling. Firefighters had to remove the ceiling above the bathroom and above two bedrooms to put the fire out.

Damage was "moderate," Hinkebein said, but added that the structure was in good shape.

The compression from the lightning strike was so strong that it blew out two windows in the basement.

Friedel, who was traveling back to Cape Girardeau last night, could not be reached for comment.

Hinkebein said that it's not rare for two fires to happen in one day.

"Unfortunately, it does happen once in a while."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137