An 81-year-old man has died from injuries he received Monday evening when he and his son tried to put out a fire on their property that eventually became a brush fire, Cochise County authorities say,
About 6:15 p.m., Neil Edward Hesse and his 52-year-old son were using a grinder on their property near the Whetstone area when sparks started a fire, the Cochise County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday night on Facebook.
The pair received serious burn and smoke injuries while trying to douse the fire and had to taken to a hospital in Tucson for treatment, the department said.
Officials were notified just before noon Tuesday that Hesse had died.
When firefighters initially arrived at the Hesse property, near North Sanders and North Bowers roads, they heard explosions from multiple propane tanks.
The fire spread and about 15 properties were evacuated Monday night. It was lifted Tuesday.
The fire was located about nine miles east of Whetstone and continued to burn within the Babocomari River bed, the sheriff's office and Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said on Facebook.
A combination of local and state firefighters were assigned to the blaze. It had grown to nearly 30 acres by late Tuesday, officials said.
