Burn victim saved by neighbors after overloaded socket caused house fire in Huffman, officials say

HUFFMAN, Texas (KTRK) -- The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office confirmed a fire that prompted a Life Flight response on Monday afternoon was accidental.

According to Harris County officials, the Huffman Volunteer Fire Department responded to a home fire on the 2700 block of 3rd Street in Huffman.

HCFMO confirms a man in his 50s was burned in the fire and needed to be flown to The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The victim suffered burns to his upper body, according to officials. Neighbors who saw the smoke pulled the victim from the fire.

The neighbors, Ashley Ana McGee and James "Jed" Dyer, told ABC13 they were in the right place at the right time.

The words "God is my copilot" adorn the windshield of the motorhome where the man nearly lost his life.

"It's crazy God works in mysterious ways, and thank God He gave us the urge to move those blinds after so long," McGee said.

McGee lives next door with her family. She said a long put-off project to move the kitchen blinds to another window is the only reason she had a direct line of sight 30 minutes later as smoke billowed from her neighbor's home.

"Super black smoke, it was rolling out the door. Probably halfway up was solid black and smoke. If he would have been farther in there, I probably wouldn't have seen him," Dyer said.

Dyer said McGee saw the smoke and alerted him.

He said she immediately called 911, and he went outside to make sure their neighbor wasn't inside. Dyer said he was, and he passed out on the ground inside of the RV.

"He was coughing every time he breathed or coughed, black smoke would come out of his mouth," Dyer said.

Dyer said he brought his neighbor outside. He said the victim was able to sit up and then was beginning to stand as paramedics drove in just a few minutes after the call to 911 was made.

He told ABC13 his neighbor had bad burns to his upper body.

"It peeled some of the skin off his head when he pulled his shirt off," Dyer said.

HCFMO confirmed it was an accidental electrical fire caused by an overloaded socket.

The man is expected to survive and received treatment for his burns at the hospital.

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