NC man on oxygen burned after lighting cigarette

BURLINGTON — A 44-year-old man is hospitalized in North Carolina after he tried to light a cigarette while using an oxygen breathing tank, and lit himself on fire.

The Times-News of Burlington reported Tuesday the man suffered burns in his nostrils, throat and face. Fire Chief Mark Fuqua said the breathing device inserted in the man’s nose was melted.

The man’s name hasn’t been released. He was taken to the Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill.

Fuqua said the man lived in an apartment building in Burlington where smoking is prohibited inside. Fuqua said the man lit the cigarette inside his room Monday.

Firefighters say they will hold a special class to talk to residents at the apartment building about the dangers of smoking while wearing oxygen tubes.

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