Texas Man Dies in Fire After Cigarette Ignites Oxygen

A fire official says a 73-year-old Panhandle man died in an apartment fire after his cigarette ignited a home oxygen supply used to help him breathe.

Kenneth Herin died in the Sunday afternoon fire in Borger. Preliminary autopsy results show the initial flash fire burned his throat and lungs.

Fire Marshal Jerry Langwell tells the Amarillo Globe-News that investigators have not yet determined exactly how the cigarette ignited the oxygen.

Langwell says that the fire was out by the time firefighters arrived, but Herin was dead.

Langwell says, “Smoking while on oxygen is just never, never ever a good idea.”