BRUNSWICK, Maine — A 62-year-old man was taken by LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon after firefighters found him on fire in his wheelchair in the Willow Grove retirement complex.
Thomas Soucy was adding a log to his wood stove at 2 Willow Grove when his pants caught fire. Flames spread to much of his body and the wheelchair, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland. A nearby pile of wood also ignited.
“He and the wheelchair were on fire,” Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant said.
Brunswick firefighters and a police officer responded to a LifeLine call just before 1 p.m. and quickly were able to extinguish the blaze, Brillant said.
Soucy suffered severe burns to his lower body.
Firefighters took Soucy by ambulance to the parking lot of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, where they met the helicopter.
Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office and the Brunswick police and fire departments were investigating the incident.
No other injuries were reported, and there was no damage to the condominium where Soucy resides.