Fatal Fire Victim: 'She Was His World'

“She was his everything. She was his world. They were just great together.”

That’s how Emmaus McDonald's store manager Jackie Grube described the relationship between employee Bobby Taylor and his girlfriend Maria—one of four people killed in a devasting apartment fire in Emmaus on Sunday.

Taylor has been a grill-area worker for the past eight years, according to Grube, who said he and Maria “have been together forever, something along the lines of [husband and wife].”

“That’s why this is so devastating to us,” Grube said of Maria’s death. “We are like a family here.”

A neighbor told the Morning Call that he helped Taylor escape from the roof of the burning building but he couldn't get to Maria.

Taylor’s McDonald's family is collecting donations for their co-worker. A plastic bucket for donations sits on the counter next to a cash register.

Next, Grube says employees intend to hold a “McTeacher” night on Taylor’s behalf. This is a McDonald's fundraiser typically held to benefit a school; a percentage of sales during a scheduled date and time are donated to a group or cause.

Several customers Monday asked cashiers about Bobby, a familiar face at the restaurant.

“Bobby is great,” Grube says. “You could be having the worst day in the world and just by a smile, he could make you laugh.

“Bobby is always singing,” she added. “We all tell him all the time that he is in the wrong profession.”

Grube says she expects Taylor to eventually be back to work at McDonalds. She didn't say if he was injured in the fire.