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At approximately noon on Friday, June 9, members of the Williamsport Volunteer Fire Company and other area agencies were called to a two-alarm house fire on Hoffman Drive, after smoke and flames were reported by neighbors.
The Maryland State Fire Marshal said that the investigation into the near-fatal blaze determined that a 76-year-old homeowner turned on the stovetop and walked away from the area after his wife had called him and asked him to actually preheat the oven minutes earlier.
When the man returned to the kitchen and found the fire on the stovetop, he attempted to extinguish it, but was overcome by smoke and he collapsed, though his wife got home just in time.
Officials say that as she returned home and found the fire - and her husband - she was able to pull him away before the flames engulfed the rest of the home, likely saving his life.
It took a team of 70 firefighters an estimated 45 minutes to get the flames under control.
It is estimated that the man suffered 14 percent burns on several parts of his body. He was airlifted to the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center by Maryland State Police, where he was listed in stable condition late on Friday afternoon.
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