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Pulaski man dies after catching fire while smoking with oxygen tank  

A Beaver County man was killed and his wife injured this morning in a fire that started after the man lit up a cigarette while using an oxygen tank, authorities said.

Donald Hawthorne, 78, caught fire about 5:20 a.m. while in a rear bedroom of the mobile home he shared with his wife Bernie, 72, said Pulaski Fire Chief Rich Morrell.

Bernie Hawthorne, who had been sleeping on a living-room couch, raced to the bedroom when she heard her husband's screams . . .

Donald Hawthorne was dead when firefighters pulled him out of the home, which was destroyed, Morrell said. His wife, who suffered smoke inhalation and burns to her face and neck, was in fair condition at the Heritage Valley Beaver hospital.

Donald Hawthorne's relatives reported that he continued smoking one or two cigarettes a day despite the dangers of doing so while using an oxygen tank, Morrell said. "It looks like he woke up and probably wanted to have his morning cigarette before his wife woke up," he said.

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