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November 21, 2009

Homeowner said he was lucky to escape

By Brian Livingston / staff writer The Meridian Star Sat Nov 21, 2009, 01:00 AM CST

Willie Wilson's car was being cantankerous Friday morning.

The motor would turn over and over every time the 84-year old would rotate the key but for some reason it just wouldn't catch and crank. Maybe it was the cold morning, Wilson thought. It's always a little harder to get a car cranked when the air is cold.

Suddenly Wilson heard a pop, hiss and the next thing he knew he was looking at a wall of fire.

"I had all the windows rolled up and the car filled up with smoke really fast," said Wilson. "I didn't think I'd get out of the car before the smoke got me."

In a matter of seconds the engine area and the interior of the car were engulfed in flames. And things were going to get worse real quick as the flames from the car began licking at Wilson's wood frame home located at 1617 Eighth Ave.

When Meridian Fire Department units converged on the scene at about 10 a.m. they could see heavy flames from the car and along the north side of the home. Thick gray and black smoke billowed into the otherwise clear blue sky. Wilson, having been pulled away from the home by two passerbys, was relegated to watching the smoke fill his home while paramedics gave him oxygen and provided other treatment.

"We were passing by when we saw the fire and smoke," said Hope Wheaton, one of two people who pulled Wilson from the back of the house. "He was in back coughing and wheezing trying to put the fire out with a water hose."

Wheaton and the other person, hearing the approaching sirens from fire engines coming to the scene, convinced Wilson to just move back and let the firefighters do their job.

The vehicle was a total loss and the north side of the home received extensive fire, smoke and water damage. The rest of the home also was completely engulfed in smoke until firefighters were able to knock down the flames and set up fans to ventilate the structure.

While watching all the commotion around his home Wilson, who suffers from a heart condition, said, "The Lord got me out of that car. Otherwise I'd still be in it. And by the looks of the car that wouldn't have been a good thing."

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Homeowner said he was lucky to escape

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