An hour later, thick smoke poured up the stairs. The smoke detector screamed, and I could hear Uncle Paleo stumbling around with the fire extinguisher. When he came upstairs afterward, his footstep sounded slow and heavy. He was a wreck--broken glasses, black smudges on his face, and singed hair. How can you surmise that there was fire where the character was?

what a fa@ ಠ▄ಠ ╾━╤デ╦︻

most likely the answer would be a.) cupidity

definitions:

cupidity - greed for money or possessions

hydrophobia - extreme or irrational fear of water, especially as a symptom of rabies in humans

pathology - the science of the causes and effects of diseases, especially the branch of medicine that deals with the laboratory examination of samples of body tissue for diagnostic or forensic

patho -   relating to disease

honestly, is this even a but since you asked, he's probably at the store trying to get you food.