WASHINGTON – The name of the man who suffered fatal injuries in an Oxon Hill house fire Sunday has been released.
The Prince George’s County fire department says 59-year-old Douglas Williams was pulled from his home in the 5100 block of Boulder Drive just after 5 a.m. He had burns on 80 percent of his body.
He died later Sunday afternoon.
Williams was transported to United Medical Center on Southern Avenue, then transferred to the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in D.C.
His wife, Patsy, who was able to get out of the house on her own, suffered smoke inhalation but is in otherwise in fair condition.
Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor says it appears Mr. Williams was trying to refill the kerosene space heater inside of the home while the heater was turned on.
“Instead of turning it off and taking it outside to fill it, it was cold outside, so they tried to fill it while it was still burning and inside the home,” Bashoor says. “It just appears to be a tragic accident and hopefully a lesson for others.”
Marlene Reid has lived in the house behind the couple since 1975. She says this was the first large fire in the neighborhood in a long time.
“This is the first one I’ve seen where it has gutted the house,” Reid says.
She was stunned to see the damage left by the fire.
“That fire must have been very hot,” she says. “It just popped out the windows.”
Brad Irvin lives across the street and says he stays far away from kerosene heaters.
“We don’t use them a lot, but I know I’m a little terrified of them because they seem a little dangerous,” Irvin says. “But I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Damages from the fire are estimated at $50,000. It took about 30 firefighters almost 15 minutes to put the fire out.
WTOP’s Jamie Forzato contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
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