By Teddy Rydquist
Leader Staff Writer
Emergency dispatch responded to a call at 3:18 p.m. on Monday, April 27 from a man saying he saw smoke bellowing from the windows of his neighbor’s mobile home on Crestwood Dr. in the Parkhurst Estates complex located off Lapeer Rd.
The Oxford Township Fire Department, headed by Chief Pete Scholz, was quick to respond to the scene and was able to extinguish the smoke, which was contained to this single property, within minutes.
Upon entering the residence, emergency medical technicians made a gruesome discovery, finding the body of the homeowner, 66-year-old, Stanley Joel Carpenter.
An arson team assisted the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department with the investigation, determining the cause of the fire was Carpenter, who used an oxygen tank, falling asleep with a lit cigarette in his hand, resulting in an explosion.
Authorities believe Carpenter died because of the fire; a sign soot must have been found in his lungs during the autopsy, indicating he was alive when the explosion occurred.
Carpenter lived alone at the residence and no one else reported suffering any injuries because of the fire.
Born on August 5, 1953, Carpenter will be laid to rest at the Dudley Cemetery in Dudley, Missouri, per Modetz Funeral Homes.

  Joel Carpenter