The victim of a Wednesday afternoon fire is on life support at WakeMed, a family member said this morning.

Justin Davis said his uncle, David Nowell, suffered burns to his face when he was apparently smoking while on oxygen.

The family has not begun to assess what Nowell needs as far as material possessions in the aftermath of the fire, which occurred shortly before 5 p.m. in a mobile home park on Colonial Drive outside Roanoke Rapids. “Basically, just prayer,” he said.

Nowell was in poor medical condition and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his nephew said. “He had a lot of breathing problems. We kept telling him he has got to quit smoking.”

Nowell, who lived by himself in the mobile home at 362 Colonial Drive, told family members he did not want to be placed in a rest home or nursing home facility, Davis said.

Nowell was transported to Halifax Regional Medical Center after the fire. His condition was critical enough to call for an airlift to WakeMed but weather conditions scrubbed a flight and he was transported by ambulance.

Firefighters retrieved four small oxygen bottles and a 4-foot bottle from the debris left inside.

The fire gutted the trailer.