Monroe man suffers fatal burns

Published 2:46 pm Tuesday, December 15, 2009

MONROE – A 76-year-old man has died after his clothes caught fire from a propane heater, officials said today.

The man’s clothes caught fire Friday after he reportedly backed his wheelchair into an open-flame propane heater, Monroe Fire Department spokeswoman Richelle Risdon said. Firefighters were called to his home in the 1900 block of 144th Place SE.

Family members had extinguished the flames, but the man suffered burns to 40 percent of his body. Medics drove him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he later died from his injuries.