Fire claims life of Blaine resident
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
BLAINE — A local man has died from injuries sustained in a fire that occurred Tuesday, June 18, as he was using a torch to cut an oil tank at his residence.
“The State Fire Marshal’s Office reports a man from the Aroostook County town of Blaine has died after being critically burned Tuesday afternoon when using a torch to cut up an old heating oil tank. Reginal Otis, 72, was flown by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with burns to 80 percent of his body,” said Steve McCausland, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
According to McCausland, Otis died of his injuries “sometime during the night.”
“Fire investigators said it appears the torch ignited vapors as the oil tank was being cut apart at Otis’s home on Brook Loop,” said McCausland.
McCausland said it was unclear what type of flammable liquid remained in the tank. Otis was first taken by ambulance to The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle, then flown by the Lifeflight helicopter to Boston where he later died of his injuries
