Man Airlifted After Suffering Burns from Fire

A resident of 639 Crestlawn Avenue received burns to his arm Sunday morning after he fell asleep in a chair that caught fire from a lit cigarette.
Ricky Lawrence was treated by DeKalb EMS and then transported to the DeKalb Middle School parking lot where he was airlifted by a Life Force helicopter ambulance and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
Central dispatch received the call at 7:37 a.m. and members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department, DeKalb EMS, and Smithville Police responded.
Fire Chief Charlie Parker told WJLE that the chair was the only thing in the house that was damaged in the fire. The small blaze was quickly extinguished and the chair was removed from the residence and taken outside.
Lawrence apparently had fallen asleep in the chair while holding a lit cigarette. The chair caught fire and he received burns to his arm.
The Smithville Volunteer Fire Department was called out again Sunday night to a car fire at the city park on Martin Street. The car was destroyed. The cause remains under investigation.