Deadly brush fire in Beaver County renews warnings from first responders not to burn in dry conditions
The dangerously dry weather turned deadly on Thursday afternoon when a Beaver County man was killed by a brush fire in his backyard.
Police identified the man as 86-year-old Charles Flook, according to the New Sewickley Township Police Department.
"It's definitely a tragedy, I was devastated, he was a great neighbor," said Cheyenne Gaus. "He loved to talk any time he caught you outside, you were out there for at least an hour talking to him."
Police said Gaus's affable neighbor died when a fire got out of control shortly after noon while he was burning in his backyard off of Route 989. With the dry conditions and gusty winds, his backyard was in flames in minutes.
"[I] heard a loud pop, walked out and immediately saw my whole backyard on fire, didn't know what started it, what caused it, and I had no idea what to do," Gaus said. "It was quick, within minutes it was spreading toward the house so I called 911 immediately."
Just under an acre was burned and New Sewickley Township Police Chief Greg Carney said a firefighter found the man dead with a shovel nearby.
"It's very tragic," Chief Carney said. "There was a shed that was fully involved as well as a large wooded area. It appears he had been burning household refuse and the fire became out of control."
Carney went on to say that while everyone wants to get ahead of their spring yard cleaning, this isn't the time.
"Everyone is trying to clean up their yards and make things look nice for the summer, but now is not the time to burn," he said. "It needs to rain and get wet before they can burn."
Today was a sober reminder for Gaus, a pregnant mom.
"Be careful, make sure you are cautious and keeping an eye on a fire when you are burning because they can spread very quickly," she said.
Now, if you do spark a brush fire, authorities say you should not try to put it out yourself, get away from the fire, and call for help.
