A man recovering from recent hip-replacement surgery and his girlfriend who was staying at his house to care for him died early Monday morning in a fire that investigators are treating as a possible arson.
Family members of Lindell Lewis say they think his longtime girlfriend, Gloria Jean Hart, died trying to save Lewis, who used a walker to get around.
The Akron Fire Department and State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the fire as an arson, said Mike Brooks, the city fire department’s public information officer.
Autopsy results show Lewis, 65, and Hart, 66, died from smoke inhalation in the fire at Lewis’ home at 714 Fultz St. off East Avenue in southwest Akron, according to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The couple were found in an upstairs bathroom. The front of the house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived about 3:30 a.m., according to neighbors.
A third person, Thomas Hugley, who rented a room in the basement, escaped the fire, Brooks said.
“He said he was in the basement, heard a noise and that’s when he woke up and found fire and got out of the house,” said Brooks, who spoke to Hugley. “He could hear the other two victims upstairs.”
Lewis had just recently returned home from a rehab facility after surgery, said his brother, Willie Lewis, 66.
“When I first heard it, I broke down,” he said of the news that his younger brother had died in a fire.
Hart was staying at the home temporarily to help him, said her niece, Danielle Arnold.
“She was a great mother, grandmother, sister and friend and a good aunt to whoever came in contact with her,” said Arnold, who Hart called “Coco.” “She was a good person.”
Hart, who was known as Jeanne to her family, had two grown daughters and four grandchildren, Arnold said.
Hart retired from Chrysler several years ago after nearly 30 years of service, said her youngest daughter, Tamika Hart.
Praise for mother
“My mother was loving. She cared about people and … there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for anybody,” said Tamika Hart.
The daughter said she’s very angry and distraught that someone would deliberately try to hurt the couple.
“How could somebody even hate him or them both that much to want to see harm come to them? They both were good people,” said Tamika Hart.
Lindell Lewis had recently had his van set on fire and windows broken, said Tamika Hart. She begged the couple to file a police report and to stay at her mother’s house after his surgery.
However, the couple decided to stay at the house. A review of recent police reports revealed no incidents prior to the fire at Lewis’ home.
Lindell Lewis was using a walker and “was scooting around, so probably couldn’t go down the steps,” Willie Lewis said. He thinks Hart likely “couldn’t drag or pull him downstairs. That’s probably why they couldn’t get out.”
Lindell Lewis had recently installed security cameras on the house to see who was at the door because he was moving slowly after his surgery, his brother said.
Willie Lewis described his brother as “a good Christian guy.”
“I just can’t believe someone would do something like that to a guy who couldn’t move,” he said.
Willie Lewis said his brother has had “some problems, but nothing to that extent” to cause someone to try to harm him.
Bertha Hullum, whose daughter is married to Lindell Lewis’ son, said she also hopes the fire was not intentionally set.
If it was, “it’s a very low-down thing … they’ll have to take it up with God,” she said.
Neighbors reported hearing different noises around the time of the fire.
Orange light in window
Next-door neighbor Nicholas Costa said he was still up after finishing his second-shift job and was eating when he heard first some popping noises.
“Then I heard a strange hissing and a low thunderous noise. There was a big orange light in the window like the sun was coming out,” said Costa. When he opened the front door to go to his porch, he heard sounds of air rushing around him.
He said he called the fire department.
“By the time the fire department got here, it was too late. I screamed for him, but I couldn’t get close,” said Costa.
The heat from the fire next door was so hot, he had to move his car because the paint was bubbling. Neighbors said they heard screams as firefighters attempted to put out the flames.
Gary Guenther of the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said Lewis and Hart were pronounced dead at the scene at 5 a.m.
Lindell Lewis had a large family, his brother said. There were six siblings and Lewis had three grown children and several grandchildren. He was a retired bricklayer.
Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Akron Fire Department and Akron Police Department were collecting items from what remained of the charred porch and house on Monday and putting them in large plastic bags and marking areas with yellow numbers with placards.
A charred chair, wire basket, small concrete decorative garden column and large flower pot were some items that were distinguishable among the fire remains.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty.