GIDDINGS COUPLE KILLED IN HOUSE FIRE

  

A house fire early Monday morning claimed the lives of a couple in Giddings.

C.W. and Mary Hales were killed when their home in the 5300 block of Highway 290 East caught fire at 1:45 a.m.

Dispatchers alerted firefighters responding to the scene that the two were trapped inside the burning building.  Prior to their arrival, according to the Giddings Times and News, a long-time employee and caregiver of the Hales, James Williams, attempted to rescue the two from their bedroom, but the building began to fall down around him.

Williams escaped and was taken to a hospital in Austin after suffering burns and smoke inhalation.  He is expected to recover.

Firefighters arrived to find the front half of the home fully engulfed in flames.  The Giddings and South Lee County Volunteer Fire Departments extinguished the blaze.

C.W. and Mary were the owners of Hales C.W. House Moving in Giddings.

The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office will perform a fatality investigation into the cause of the fire.