Man, 88, Dies of Burns Suffered at His Home
An 88-year-old Rossmoor man, badly burned when stacks of newspapers caught fire at his home, has died at UCI Medical Center.
An Orange County coroner’s investigator said Tommy Montgomery died after suffering third-degree burns over 45% of his body.
His wife Marsha, 77, remains in critical condition at the medical center with third-degree burns on her right hand and her shoulders.
For years, the couple had accumulated stacks of newspapers, magazines and Christmas wrappings. On March 9, papers in the kitchen caught fire when the couple, their heater broken, tried to use burners on a gas stove to warm their home.
The fire also caused $50,000 in damage to the Montgomery’s three-bedroom house on Kensington Road.
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