HUMBOLDT – The Richardson County Sheriff's Office released the name of the Humboldt man killed Thanksgiving Day in a house fire as the house's only occupant, 77-year-old Roy Minks.

Friend Tim Creamer described Minks as a caring and generous man, but said he was disabled. He said Minks was loved and received help from many friends through the years.

Creamer: “Roy needed a lot of help, so that’s why I was there. That’s how I got to know Roy and everybody loved Roy. I mean we all looked out for him.”

Creamer said he feared the worst for Roy when loud pops and booms awoke him and he saw the house engulfed in flames.

Neighbor Sharon Shotsman said she awoke to a glow around 4 a.m. and called 911.

 


Shotsman: “There were three or four loud explosions just after I noticed the fire. It sounded like bombs going off in our backyard to the point that it shook, if you lived in town, you had to have felt it.”

She credited firefighters from Stella, Dawson and Humboldt.

Shotsman: “I’ve got to give it to our fire departments. Our Humboldt fire department here, they are great volunteers. They put their lives on the line that night.”

A Humboldt Volunteer Fire Department post on Facebook said the cause of the fire may have been linked to the use of a wood stove to melt aluminum at high temperatures.

Creamer said he is still waiting for details about the circumstances around the fire.

Creamer: “Roy was giving out wood to people who needed it to stay warm during the winter. He didn’t have to do that, but that was Roy Minks. He was a guy, one hell of a guy. I’m very saddened by it. I don’t think I will ever forget it.”