COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Authorities say a Fountain man has died in a fire that was started by an electrical outlet overloaded with Christmas lights.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports ( ) that 45-year-old Joe Nauta died in the blaze Monday that burned four mobile homes.
Fire officials say Nauta’s wife, Janey, smelled smoke at about 2 a.m. and alerted her husband and two children.
Family friend Shelly Harrison says all members of the family ran outside, but Joe Nauta ran back in to grab a key. Janey Nauta took her 10-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son to a safe distance from the home and realized her husband was still inside.
She went back and broke a window to try to help him escape, but it was too late and he died within a few feet of the front door, the newspaper reports.
