Fatal Fire Engulfed Elderly Victim in Flames

An 89-year-old man who died in a one-alarm house fire in the 800 block of Edgewood Drive last week was himself on fire when the call was reported to emergency dispatch, according to a Haddonfield police report.

Frank Berry was pronounced dead at the scene last Tuesday after firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze that had engulfed him, according to the report.  Investigators determined an oxygen tank the elderly man was using helped fuel a fire sparked by a cigarette he was apparently smoking.

Police Sgt. Edward Wiley and Patrolman Robert Shreve, who were first to arrive, tried to put the fire out with the assistance of the man’s adult daughter, but were forced back by smoke and flames.  The daughter placed an emergency call at 2:53 p.m. stating her father was on fire.

The blaze was doused five minutes after firefighters arrived, but it was too late.  The fire is still officially under investigation.