Mobile home fire victim dies

The fire at 9121 Toloff St., near Abbott Road, was reported at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Family members identified the victim as Roger Ranch, 66, who lived at the home.

Roger's nephew Jeff Ranch, who lives in Minnesota, said his uncle was badly burned in the fire. Ranch was alive when he arrived at the hospital, and the hospital staff did what they could to ease his pain, Jeff said.

It was unclear if Roger died from his burns or from smoke inhalation, his nephew said.

Firefighters found the man behind the front door and paramedics took him to a hospital. He died at about 1:30 a.m., according to the fire department.

Roger was a veteran who served in the Army and had done high-altitude, low-opening jumps from airplanes, also called HALO jumps, Jeff said. Roger's highest jump was from 40,000 feet, Jeff said.

Roger was a humble man with a quirky sense of humor, "but those would be things that people who knew him knew right away," Jeff said.

After the Army, Roger landed in Bethel and became a pediatric physician's assistant who set so many broken arms and legs for kids he was known to his friends as "Bones," said friend and radio show host Shannyn Moore.

Roger could put on a gruff persona sometimes, but he was very soft on the inside, Jeff said, especially with Jeff's two daughters, whom he saw three Christmases ago.

"He was Santa Claus to the kids, because he's got that big white beard and the classic Alaskan motif and everything," Jeff said. "That's that soft side of Roger."

Jeff is currently talking with Roger's friends in Alaska about a memorial and wake event in early January. More information would be forthcoming as the plan comes together, Jeff said.

The mobile home is considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation.