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Bowie man dies in fire
STEVE RENO
News-Sun
A medical condition that required a Bowie senior citizen to be on constant oxygen may have led to his death by flash fire while he was smoking a cigarette, authorities said.
Vincent J. Rourke, 74, did not survive burns he received over 90 percent of his body in the fire in his travel trailer on Airstrip Road north of town Saturday at 6:32 p.m., said Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Department.
"He had a history of smoking and there was (oxygen) in his home," said Bowie Fire Chief Bruce Brown, who is also trained as a paramedic and was called to the scene. "It looks like the fire had kind of flashed over him in an oxygen-enriched environment and the man suffered significant burns over his whole body.
"I asked him if he was in pain and he couldn't answer. This is one of the worst cases I've seen where the victim was still alive after being burned like this."
Brown called for an air-evac helicopter that took Rourke to the Maricopa Medical Center Burn Unit in Phoenix. The hospital advised the sheriff's department at 10 a.m. Sunday that Rourke did not survive.
Neighbor Joe Moreland had observed smoke coming from the trailer and contacted Rourke's son Ron for help, said Pam Rourke, the victim's daughter-in-law.
Upon opening the door, the men were pushed back by smoke and flames, Capas said. The rescuers saw a male sitting in the camper with magazines burning on his lap and his clothing on fire. Both men managed to pull the victim from the camper and extinguish the flames before shutting down the propane and electricity to the camper, she said.
News-Sun
A medical condition that required a Bowie senior citizen to be on constant oxygen may have led to his death by flash fire while he was smoking a cigarette, authorities said.
Vincent J. Rourke, 74, did not survive burns he received over 90 percent of his body in the fire in his travel trailer on Airstrip Road north of town Saturday at 6:32 p.m., said Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Department.
"He had a history of smoking and there was (oxygen) in his home," said Bowie Fire Chief Bruce Brown, who is also trained as a paramedic and was called to the scene. "It looks like the fire had kind of flashed over him in an oxygen-enriched environment and the man suffered significant burns over his whole body.
"I asked him if he was in pain and he couldn't answer. This is one of the worst cases I've seen where the victim was still alive after being burned like this."
Brown called for an air-evac helicopter that took Rourke to the Maricopa Medical Center Burn Unit in Phoenix. The hospital advised the sheriff's department at 10 a.m. Sunday that Rourke did not survive.
Neighbor Joe Moreland had observed smoke coming from the trailer and contacted Rourke's son Ron for help, said Pam Rourke, the victim's daughter-in-law.
Upon opening the door, the men were pushed back by smoke and flames, Capas said. The rescuers saw a male sitting in the camper with magazines burning on his lap and his clothing on fire. Both men managed to pull the victim from the camper and extinguish the flames before shutting down the propane and electricity to the camper, she said.
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| Tentative budget approved | Cochise County Supervisors |
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