Anderson man found dead in fire

BURNT DOWN:
Marvin Wittner stands next to his neighbor’s destroyed home after it burnt down early Wednesday morning.

Jesse David Little, 68, was found dead by firefighters after his mobile home was engulfed in flames early Wednesday morning at 3004 Hazel Drive, River Park Mobile Estates, in Anderson.

Next-door neighbor Marvin Wittner said he tried to rouse Little as Wittner’s wife, Paula, called 911 at 4:45 a.m. Wittner said he ran around to the homes of nearby neighbors waking them up and then drove around the block honking his horn to alert the remainder of his neighborhood.

“I knocked and yelled to get any kind of response,” Wittner said. “I kept hammering on the wall, ‘Jesse, Jesse, Jesse, Jesse.’ I’m sure the smoke got him before the fire did.”

According to Wittner, Little had a leg amputated two years ago, so was confined to a motorized wheelchair. Wittner added that Little often slept in the chair near the television.

“That’s where I was yelling to get his attention,” Wittner said.

“He was a real nice guy,” resident manager Kirk Tainsh said. “He was a good man.”

Anderson Fire Protection District and CDF responded to the fire. AFPD is investigating the cause of the fire.