Rural Bloomfield man dies in fire

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A 61-year-old rural Bloomfield man is dead after a Monday night fire in his mobile home on a county road just outside Dexter, Missouri.

Bloomfield firefighters were sent to 16307 County Road 511A at 9:30 p.m. Seven members of the Bloomfield Fire Department battled the blaze. Fire Chief Justin Bell said the home was engulfed in flames when they arrived.

Donna Whitely was outside the home and told authorities she and her husband, Michael Whitley Sr., were asleep when the fire started. She escaped, but her husband did not and was found just inside the front door. He was taken by Stoddard County EMS to SoutheastHEALTH Center in Dexter, where he was pronounced dead at 10:57 p.m.

Eight Dexter firefighters responded to a call for mutual aid just after 10 p.m. No other homes were threatened by the fire.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined, and because a death was involved, the state fire marshal was called to conduct an investigation. Fire marshal Kyle Carter drove from his home in Farmington, Missouri. Firefighters remained on the scene until his arrival about 3 a.m.

Bell said it likely will take several weeks for Carter's report to be completed.

An autopsy was performed Tuesday on White.