A Dixfield man has died after catching fire on his kitchen stove, authorities said.
Richard Roberts, 78, died at Maine Medical Center in Portland late Monday night, according to Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland.
Around 6 p.m. last Tuesday, Roberts’ clothes caught fire while heating water on his propane stove inside his Averill Hill Road home. He had burns on 45 percent of his body, authorities said.
Dixfield Deputy Chief Chris Moretto lives nearby and was the first to arrive at the scene. Inside the house, he found Roberts standing in the kitchen engulfed in flames, with most of his clothes already burned off, he said.
Fire trucks and ambulances had just arrived when Moretto pulled Roberts from the kitchen, Moretto said. The fire did not spread beyond a few appliances, he said.
Roberts was first taken to Rumford Hospital, then flown to Portland for treatment.
His death is the second fire death of the year, after a man was found dead from a blaze inside his Skowhegan mobile home on Saturday.
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