NORFOLK, Va. - An elderly man has died from his injuries following a fire that happened Saturday morning.
Units were sent to the 2300 block of Arkansas Avenue for a reported burn patient just after 8 a.m.
When crews arrived, they found an elderly man in severe respiratory distress with burns to his upper body.
A woman who lives in the home tells News 3 that the man was "engulfed in flames."
According to fire officials, the man's clothing and sofa were extinguished by bystanders using a portable fire extinguisher before crews arrived.
Medics were called to the scene to continue life-saving emergency medical care. The man was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he later died.
Family friends say the man lit a cigarette while using oxygen, but the origin and cause of fire remain under investigation.
Other people in the home were unharmed.
