Shortly after firefighters arrived on the scene, they discovered Parker's body in his apartment on the fifth floor of the towers.

Pacing in front of Oldham Towers amid fire trucks and police cruisers, Percell didn't attempt to conceal his anger from reporters.

"He's dead," Percell said, "He's dead. ... He don't supposed to be smokin' no cigarettes. He was smokin' a cigarette, went to sleep and burned hisself up."

Fire Department spokeswoman Pamela Majette said a report of a structure fire at 519 E. Main St. was called in at 4:53 p.m. After the initial call, Majette said, firefighters received information that smoke was coming from a fourth-floor apartment. " Firefighters went in and saw smoke around the fourth floor," but the crew quickly realized the smoke was coming from the fifth floor and discovered the source was Parker's corner apartment, she said. Majette said she didn't know how long it took firefighters to control the blaze.

Percell said he was in the building and saw when firefighters pulled his father from the burning apartment. "I was standing [on the street] and I smelled smoke," Percell said. "So I come down the sidewalk, I go upstairs and by the time I get to the door they're pullin' him out burned up, no flesh or nothin'."

While Percell claimed a burning cigarette aparked the blaze, Majette said that the cause of the blaze, as well as the cause of Parker's death, was still under investigation.

Without tears and clearly frustrated, Percell told reporters that the last days of Parker's life were not his best. "He cannot walk, he take 19 pills a day. He couldn't do nothing," Percell barked at reporters. After calming down, Percell described Parker, who was the father of eight. "He was a Christian," he said. "He was a gospel singer. He worked for the Highway Authority for 30 years." Percell said his father didn't sing in any particular church but "had his own thing." "He had an album out back in the day," Percell said.

Oldham Towers is one of the Durham Housing Authority's 14 conventional housing programs. Built in 1969, the high-rise towers provide 106 apartments for low- to moderate-income elderly residents.