Flash fire kills man in fishing cabin (MAINE)

[North2AlaskaAlley]

THIS WAS PRINTED ON WED 9 fEB IN THE BANGOR DAILY NEWS.  I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TYPE OF HEATER HE WAS USING...


TOWNSHIP 17 RANGE 5 - A Caribou man found Monday died of smoke inhalation from a flash fire inside his ice fishing cabin, according to law enforcement officials Tuesday.

Louis Berube, 51, a construction worker who lived at 158 Grimes Road, was an avid fisherman who often spent time at his camp near Burnt Landing on Square Lake. He had an ice fishing shack on the lake, not far from his camp. He sometimes stayed at his camp two or three days at a time fishing.

Burnt Landing is on the northeastern shore of Square Lake, across from the thoroughfare to Eagle Lake.

Fire Marshal Tim Lowell said Tuesday that a partial autopsy was done Monday night at a Caribou funeral home.

According to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, Berube died in a flash fire inside his fishing cabin, sometime on the weekend. Berube last was seen by a game warden during Saturday evening.

Members of another fishing party found Berube's body about noon Monday.

Lowell said a leak from a propane stove or heater inside the fishing cabin exploded, causing significant heat and using up all the oxygen in the small shack. The fire self-extinguished after the oxygen was depleted. The inside of the cabin had some fire damage, and Berube's body also suffered minor burns.

State police and the Maine Warden Service responded by airplane and snowmobiles Monday afternoon after receiving a 911 call.

McCausland said Berube had been fishing alone at the time of the accident. They were unsure whether the fire happened on Saturday or Sunday.

An acquaintance said Berube acquired the Burnt Landing camp a couple of years ago and often went there to pursue his hobby. He traveled there from Route 161 by snowmobile.
 

[JiggerMan]

that is a sad story.  You always hope that things like that do not happen.  But unfortunately they do.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

JiggerMan

[missfishylicious]

I hope it wasn't the mr buddy heater ,by the way they did recall them I checked with the company.

[smeltshack]

DID THEY RECALL ALL OF THE MR. BUDDY HEATERS OR ONLY THE BIG BUDDY HEATERS???
I GOT THE SMALLER ONE FOR CHRISTMAS AND WILL RETURN IT IF THAT IS THE CASE.


I ONLY SIT IN MY PORTABLE TO WARM UP THEN I GO OUTSIDE AND SIT UNTIL I GET TO COLD AGAIN. I HAVE A BABY BOY ON THE WAY AND WOULD RATHER BE AROUND TO SEE HIM GROW UP.

[ChenBassHead]

Smeltshack, the recall was only on the Big Buddy heater.

I really hate to hear that things like this happen    Unfortunately, they happen every year, more often than we realize...I guess it wasn't the ideal way to go, but at least he went out doing what he loved. 

-Zach

[fishinworms]

wow, what a sad story, my regards go out to the family.  i'd guess he died doing what what he (and me) loved.....

[Hardguy]

Another reason not to go by yourself.  My regards to his family!!

[North2AlaskaAlley]

Another reason not to go by yourself.  My regards to his family!!

My suspicion is that if he had been with a buddy, the results would have been two dead fishermen?  Personally I use one of the antique kerosene heaters with the barrel wick.  It might stink, but it sure does work good! 

I will try to keep up with the story, but it has gotten VERY little press.

If it WAS the BIG BUDDY heater I suspect they are in for some legal issues!  Such a long time from knowing there was an issue, to an actual recall?  Wow.  All I know is in the future, ANY potentially dangerous "toys" I get will be registered!  How many of us own chainsaws, snow throwers, etc that we never bother to register with the manufacturer?  I never gave it much thought before, but that is the only way they can be sure you get info about issues!

[missfishylicious]

when I emailed the guy he responded with this
We are in the process of recalling the Big Buddy & Tough buddy heaters only.
If you have one of these products, Model MH18B or MH18TB, please call

1-800-385-2605 to register your product.

so then I emailed this
My Mr heater has a model # MH9B and a date code 5100 does my heater have a
different control valve than the model # MH18B and MH18TB I'm sorry for the
dumb questions but I want to be sure
and he responded your heater is ok and does not have a recall on it


wanted to get documentation just incase theres a problem with this heater too 

[North2AlaskaAlley]

I contacted some of the local media and alerted them of the possible connection to Mr Heater, but none of the reporters covering the story knew what brand of heater was used.

[shrub]

 my regards to his faimily, i use a propane heater out of an rv in my shanty, but we have vents in each end of the roof and a carbon monoxide dector.

[Chainsaw]

 This is sad, but... I told you that stuff was dangerous.