89-Year-Old Man Dies In Pryor House Fire

A Pryor man has died after his home caught fire early Friday afternoon. Officials said the fire seems to be smoking related.

The call came in around noon, and when firefighters arrived, they pulled an elderly man out of the back of the house. 89-year-old Welton York was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Pryor Fire Chief BK Young said when his crew arrived shortly after noon to the home in the 300 block of Southeast 13th Street, the man's neighbors were growing concerned.

"Neighbors that said there was an elderly man that lived there, and that he was unaccounted for and that he should be at home," Young said.

Primary searchers immediately went inside the home looking for York.

Young said, "They went in, they were met at the front door with heavy smoke and heat. They worked their way through the structure and actually found the elderly male."

He was unconscious in a room full of smoke when they found him.

"It's very hard on the guys that's there to help to encounter something like this, but they did a good job. They did locate him, they did as much as they could do, and also got the fire put out fairly quick," Young said.

The state fire marshal said the cause of the fire appears to be smoking related.