House fire in Jackson leaves 96-year-old man dead

JACKSON, TENN (WNBJ)-

Around 2:30 Monday morning (2/6) the Jackson Fire Department responded to a report that a house on 21 Brenda Lane was on fire.

Once the fire was out: 96-year-old Raftus Thomas was found dead inside.

His wife, Gertrude Thomas was able to escape from the burning house, she suffered just minor burn injuries on her leg.

“The victim's wife attempted to rescue him and she was overcome by the smoke and the fire at the time,” Jackson Fire Department Fire Marshall Lamar Childress said.

Gertrude’s sister told 39 News that Gertrude tried to wake up the neighbors, hoping to get help to get her husband out of the house, but no one was able to get to him in time.

Childress says the fire department is working to figure out what caused the fire, “The fire appears to have originated at the center of the structure near a front bedroom, and at this time, it is still under investigation.”

Investigators hope to have a cause of the deadly fire in a few days.