RENO, Nev. (AP) — Reno police say two patrol officers responding to screams of agony doused flames on a 54-year-old homeless man who was burned when a fire he built for warmth spread to his clothing.
Police say the man apparently rolled into the fire while sleeping in a makeshift wooden shack a little before 5 p.m. Wednesday downtown, near Fourth and Nevada streets.
The officers used their own drinking water bottles and a pillow to smother the fire, and maintenance workers from the nearby Belvedere Towers provided a fire extinguisher to put out the flames on the wooden enclosure.
Police say the burned man was hospitalized with injuries to the lower part of his body. The burns aren't believed to be life-threatening.
The man's name wasn't immediately made public.