W. Dallas Man Critically Injured in Fire

Man suffered burns, smoke inhalation while trying to find source of overnight fire

A West Dallas man is clinging to life after being trapped in his home during an overnight fire.

The fire started just before 3:30 a.m. in a single story, brick home in the 1900 block of Gallagher Street.

Firefighters arrived to the home engulfed in flames, and the woman who lives in the home pleading with the first responders to save her husband, 80-year-old Bobby Thomas.

The woman told firefighters their smoke detector had gone off, and they'd tried to find the source of the smoke.

During the search of their home, the wife told firefighters her husband had either fallen down or was overcome by smoke and collapsed.  She said that she had tried to drag him out of their home but could not do so.

Firefighters freed the man and performed CPR on the scene before transporting him to Parkland Hospital in critical condition.

Officials on the scene told NBC 5 that the homeowners made what could be a fatal mistake.

"Anytime you hear smoke detectors the first thing you need to do is get out of the house," said Jason Evans of the Dallas Fire Department.

A woman who told NBC 5 that the fire victims are her grandparents said that the home is a total loss.

"They lived here for 30 years.  Everything they have is gone," the relative said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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