Police: 25-year-old man dies after stoking fire with gasoline in St. George

ST. GEORGE, Utah, Dec. 7, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A 25-year-old man suffered fatal injuries after police said he tried to stoke a fire with gasoline in St. George Wednesday night.

Police, fire, and medical responders were dispatched to the area of North 1650 West, in Dixie Downs, on a report of a person trapped in a vehicle fire at approximately 10:10 p.m., the St. George Police Department said in a news release on Facebook.

First responders arrived to find the victim lying on the ground next to a vehicle with severe burns, the news release said.

One of the first officers on scene was able to douse the flames with a garden hose prior to the victim being transported.

The man was rushed to an area hospital with extensive burn injuries, where he later died.

Detectives were contacted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire.

“From the information obtained to date, it appears the 25-year-old and a friend had a fire in a fire pit in their yard,” the news release said. “At some point the 25-year-old decided to stoke the fire with some gasoline. The fire spread to his arms and clothes. His attempts to douse the fire on the ground did not suppress the fire and he ended up near a truck that was parked at the curb in front of the residence.”

The name of the victim has not been released pending notification of family.

Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information becomes available.

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