LUMBERTON — Charles Jones didn’t hesitate early Wednesday morning when he looked out the window of his house on Ira Road and saw his elderly neighbors’ home in flames.
He ran next door to the residence of Larry Locklear, 74, and Nedra Cummings, 75, and pulled both from the burning mobile home. Both were seriously injured, but are alive.
“I was just doing what I can do,” Jones, 33, said. “I would do it for anybody.”
The fire was reported at 2:06 a.m. Wednesday and is believed to have started accidentally, according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
Jones spoke outside the charred remains of the single-wide mobile home with yellow crime-scene tape stretched across the yard. The fire scorched the left end of the residence, which Jones’ wife, Tabitha, said was a bedroom.
Several vehicles were parking in the front yard. Most appeared to have no damage, but at least one was partially burned. A dog belonging to Locklear and Cummings was tethered, on a chain, in the front yard. A dog house and feeding dishes were nearby. Tabitha Jones said she would care for the dog.
She and others living on the short dirt road, off Buie Philadelphus Road between Red Springs and Lumberton, said they woke up and looked out windows.
“I couldn’t see nothing but fire, fire, fire,” said Richard Locklear, who lives farther down Ira Road.
Tabitha Jones said she and her husband woke up just before 2 a.m. and saw a bright light outside.
Charles Jones rushed to the burning home and found Larry Locklear, a man he has known most of his life, lying face down in the front doorway. He pulled Locklear into the front yard and went back to find Cummings, Jones said.
It was dark and smoky inside, Jones said, He repeatedly shouted for “Miss Ned.”
“I hollered and hollered, and I heard someone moaning. I heard her moaning,” Jones said. “I dropped my flashlight and put it in my mouth and looked for her.”
He found Cummings face down on the floor.
“I rolled her over and she was breathing.”
Jones said he tried to pull Cummings to safety, but the burns on her arms prevented that, so he grabbed under her arms and dragged her outside.
Cummings, who suffered third-degree burns on her face and arms, was taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, Tabitha Jones said. Locklear was taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton.
Both are in critical condition, the Sheriff’s Office said. Jones was treated for smoke inhalation at SRMC and released.
He didn’t think twice about going into the burning home, Jones said.
“I’d probably do it again. I knowed him when I was a little boy. He’s a nice guy and would do anything he can for you,” Jones said. “He’d give you the shirt off his back. He might have one shirt, but he’d give it to you.”
“Jones’ bravery was a key factor during the event,” sheriff’s Maj. Damien McLean said in a statement.
The Burnt Swamp Fire Department responded.
The Sheriff’s Office and Robeson County Emergency Management are investigating the fire.
