Smoker burns to death

2006-01-13 19:11

Escondido - An elderly patient in a senior citizens home burned to death when his oxygen tank burst into flames while he was smoking a cigarette, authorities said.

The 67-year-old patient was sitting in his wheelchair just outside the front door of the Palomar Heights Care Centre on Wednesday night when he was suddenly engulfed in flames, said Jennifer Thompson, an investigator with the San Diego County medical examiner's office.

"We're investigating the circumstances, but we know he was smoking at the time," said Carol Rea, spokesperson for the Escondido Fire Department in suburban San Diego. "His oxygen was on while he was smoking."

Nursing home employees doused the man with a fire extinguisher. He was taken to a hospital where he died of his burns and from inhaling scalding air, officials said.

Authorities are not identifying the victim pending notification of his family, Rea said.

The state Department of Health Services, which licenses nursing homes, is investigating to determine whether the nursing home committed any violations, said Patti Roberts, an agency spokesperson. The state doesn't regulate smoking, she said.

"Any time that there's a death within a facility, we do an investigation," Roberts said.

Palomar Heights administrator Sharon Constable said the home also is investigating the patient's death but she declined further comment.

- AP