Posted on 10/28/2002 12:34:20 PM PST by chance33_98
Man sets himself afire during domestic disturbance
BATH (AP) -- Bath police say a 50-year-old man survived setting himself afire with lighter fluid during a domestic dispute.
Patrol officer Corey Fleming is being credited with saving the life of Leon Charland with a fire extinguisher.
Fire Chief Steve Hinds says Charland suffered second- and third-degree burns on about 80 percent of his body. Charland is taken to the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he's in critical condition.
The incident unfolded last night when a teenager called police to report that his mother's boyfriend was threatening to set himself on fire.
Sgt. Jeffrey Shiers says he arrived on the scene and noticed a "glow" coming from the living room and then the victim came out on fire. Fleming used a fire extinguisher from his police cruiser to douse the flames.
A priceless visual.
Foreshadowing in the guy's name, perhaps?
Boy, he sure showed her.
If you want on or off this list, please let me know!
This has come about after much badgering by you, my friends and extended family...
And the teen's mother thought this guy would be a good role-model/father-figure for her son? Uh...
I wonder if the police are going to file charges against the man for violating the town's local "no smoking" ordinance?
"Who loves ya, baby?"
Sam's Club?
Christopher_Cousins@TimesRecord.Com
10/28/2002
BATH — A Bath man is in unknown condition today after he allegedly doused himself in lighter fluid and set himself aflame Sunday following a domestic dispute in Hyde Park.
Police Chief Peter Lizanecz credited Patrol Officer Corey Fleming with saving the man's life by spraying him with a fire extinguisher.
Leon Charland, 50, of 65 Bluff Road, suffered second- and third-degree burns on about 80 percent of his body, said Fire Chief Steve Hinds. He was taken directly to Maine Medical Center in Portland by a Bath ambulance crew.
A spokeswoman for Maine Medical Center would not provide any information about Charland, which means only that Charland is no longer a patient at that hospital, she said.
Police have received information that conflicts with the spokeswoman's statement.
Bath Police Lt. Joel Merry said this morning that Charland is at Maine Medical Center, but could not elaborate on Charland's condition. No further information on Charland was available.
No charges have been filed and no one else was injured.
The incident began at 7:54 p.m. A 16-year-old male called police to report his mother's boyfriend was threatening to set himself on fire. Sgt. Jeffrey Shiers responded and met a woman and her two teen-age sons — including the one who called police — outside 65 Bluff Road.
Shiers told the family to stay back, and noticed a "glow" coming from the living room, said Lizanecz. Shiers called the fire department. Fleming arrived almost immediately, followed closely by firefighters.
Charland then exited the building engulfed in flames from the waist up. The officers told Charland to roll on the ground, and Fleming retrieved a fire extinguisher from his police cruiser, which he used to douse the flames on Charland and inside the house.
The fire damage inside the house was minor, said Hinds.
The Rev. Gregory Vinson, the police department's chaplain, said he'll contact the family as well as officers Fleming and Shiers today to see if they need emotional support.
"Everyone involved in this needs to be able to express how they feel," said Vinson. "Today I'll ask them if they're all right, but then they'll dictate how much involvement they'll have with me."
http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/DD53FFD4529A847805256C60005CDF27?Opendocument
Ooops. I guess he wasn't bluffing.
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