Man engulfed in flames walks down street

A man found walking down a street fully engulfed in flames Thursday evening was taken to Maricopa Medical Center with burns over 80% to 90% of his body, according to a Phoenix Fire official.

Bystanders attempted to help the man, one of them using a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, said Troy Caskey, a Phoenix Fire Department spokesman.

"The weird thing was, he wasn't making a sound," said Lindsay Riedlinger, manager at the Glendale, Ariz. Arby's restaurant near to where the man was walking. "By the time I got there, he was silent."

Someone had run into the restaurant screaming about a fire and asking for an extinguisher, she said. Riedlinger, 24, grabbed the extinguisher and ran outside. By that time, the man was surrounded by eight or nine people, she said.

"I aimed and put out the spots on fire on his body," Riedlinger said. "The flames took everything. It looked like on his shoulders, his shirt was singed into his skin.

"He didn't know what was happening. After I put him out, he walked away and went into the Taco Bell. He said he just wanted water."

Caskey said Taco Bell employees called 911, and arriving paramedics took the man was taken to the county burn center in extremely critical condition.

The man would not tell officials how the fire started, Caskey said. Phoenix police are investigating.

"I just really hope he's OK," Riedlinger said. "I can't put my mind back into work mode."

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