Propane Heater Set Man Ablaze, Killing Him

JOLIET, IL — A Joliet man caught fire when he got too close to a propane heater and later died of his burns, police said.

Donnie Creal, 70, was keeping warm with a propane heater on the porch of his Charlesworth Avenue home Friday night when his clothes caught fire, police said.

Creal went inside his house to douse the flames, first in his bathroom and then his kitchen. He succeeded in putting himself out, police said, but not before suffering severe burns. The bathroom and kitchen also reportedly sustained fire damage.

A police officer sent to the house reportedly carried Creal outside and to an ambulance. Creal was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and then airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Creal died there Saturday afternoon.

image via Patch archive