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Police: man dies in St. George after stoking fire with gasoline

Posted at 2:31 PM, Dec 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-07 16:32:14-05

ST. GEORGE, Utah — A 25-year-old man suffered fatal injuries in St. George after police say he tried to stoke a fire with gasoline.

According to the St. George Police Department, emergency units responded to the area of North 1650 West in Dixie Downs at 10:12 p.m. Wednesday and found a 25-year-old man on fire near a vehicle in front of a home.

An officer extinguished the fire with a garden hose and the man was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.

St. George Police say initial information indicates the man and a friend had a fire in a fire pit in their yard, and at some point the man “decided to stoke the fire with some gasoline.”

The fire spread to the man’s arms and clothes, and his attempts to extinguish the fire were not successful. He made his way to a curb at the front of a residence and was near a truck when emergency units arrived. One of the first officers to arrive on scene was able to douse the flames with the garden hose.

“We are not releasing the name of the victim to allow family time to notify relatives and friends of the young man’s passing,” St. George Police stated.