PINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Michigan State Police investigators think a man may’ve died while trying to put out a brush fire on his property Thursday in Montcalm County. But they’re waiting for autopsy results to come back, to be sure.
The location is near Satterlee Road and Waterwheel Road in Pine Township. The MSP’s Lakeview Post did not say when the incident occurred. But it says in a news release, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the brush fire was ignited due to flaming debris from a burn barrel.”
Police say the body of 83-year-old Duane Scott was found while the fire was being extinguished:
“At this time it is believed that Mr. Scott perished as the result of combating the fire.”
Michigan State Police were assisted by Lakeview Fire Department, Maple Valley Township Fire Department, Montcalm County EMS, Montcalm County Medical Examiner, and Victim Rights Advocates.
It’s the second time a body has been found at a fire scene in West Michigan since last Saturday, April 21. The incidents are unrelated, but the Muskegon Heights Fire Department identified Yolanda Tate, 48, as the woman whosebody was found in a vacant home on April 24 – three days after that fire broke out. The Michigan State Police fire investigators say they found a lighter in Tate’s hand.
