Smoke inhalation likely killed man in Elkmont fire

By Jean Cole
jean@athensnews-courier.com

June 29, 2009 08:10 pm

— Until autopsy results are released, authorities can’t officially say what killed an Elkmont man found dead in a burning home Friday but they believe he probably died of smoke inhalation.
And the fire was likely caused by burning too close to the home, though the state fire marshal is still investigating.
Tommy Don Mankins, 60, of 29326 Leggtown Road, was found dead in his mobile home about 1 p.m. after a passerby saw the home on fire and called 911.
Mankins, a Vietnam War veteran disabled by a head injury, had been burning refuse near his home earlier in the day, which may have caused the fire, said fire and sheriff’s officials.
“He’d been outside doing some burning and the fire got out of control and caught the porch on fire and a neighbor helped him extinguish it,” said Limestone County Sheriff’s Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt. “He went on in the house and the fire must not have been out.”
The state fire marshal is trying to determine the cause of the blaze, which is standard procedure when there is a fatal fire, McNatt said.
Firefighters from Elkmont, Owens, West Limestone, Piney Chapel and Ardmore responded, entered through the den and removed Mankins.
Results of the autopsy, performed at the forensic laboratory in Huntsville, are pending.
Funeral arrangements for Mankins will be announced by Spry Funeral Home.