Overview
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland said he died from diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation and classified the death as accidental.
- The blaze broke out at his Maryland property on Feb. 24 after he went into a barn, according to family accounts shared with media.
- Minutes later he requested a fire extinguisher, but relatives arrived to find the structure engulfed, preventing a rescue.
- His wife suffered serious burns to her hands while trying to reach him and is receiving hospital treatment.
- The family is arranging funeral services, and authorities are still working to determine the fire’s precise origin.