Three bystanders ran to a man’s aid after he set himself on fire at the duck pond in Salem Sunday.
Kelseigh Meador, 30, of Salem said she and her children were enjoying the summer weekend afternoon at Lake Spring Park when they saw a man sitting on a bench on the side of the pond closest to West Main Street.
“He was smiling,” Meador said in a text Monday. “When we walked by him, he smiled at my kids and said that they were beautiful. So we said thank you and smiled back.”
Meador said on the bench next to the man were bottles of what she thought were Gatorade or Powerade.
“Turns out it was gas, or something that was highly flammable,” Meador said.
The mother and her two daughters finished their walk around the pond, and then Meador put her children into her car.
“As I was walking to my side of the car, I looked over at him one more time, and he yelled something and went up in flames,” Meador said. “I screamed.”
Meador and a married couple nearby rushed to put the fire out.
“The lady jumped over the gate of the pond and was getting water while I was pouring water bottles from my car on him,” Meador said. “The husband ran to the store to grab a fire extinguisher.”
Someone called 911, and first responders arrived to help, “right after we had gotten him put out,” Meador said. “They finished getting the rest of what was catching on fire in the mulch around the bench.”
Salem officials said city police and fire and EMS crews responded to the popular urban park, located at the corner of West Main and Green streets, around 1:07 p.m.
The man, who has not been publicly identified by Salem officials, was badly burned, officials said. He was treated at the scene and then rushed to Roanoke Carilion Memorial Hospital.
Salem Communications Director Mike Stevens said Monday that the city has nothing further to report about the incident.
“I have confirmed that the burn victim was in critical condition at the time of his transport to Carilion,” Stevens said in an email. “While this is a very sad and unfortunate incident, we do not anticipate any charges to result from it. It remains under investigation.”
Meador said Salem is usually a quiet place, “except for the occasional overdose or wreck.” She said while her 2-year-old didn’t understand the commotion, her 8-year-old daughter witnessed the blaze.
“She ironically enough had just grabbed a Bible from the free book thing and immediately started reading it,” Meador said. “She’s never read one before.”
The mother said she prays she and her children won’t have to witness a similar incident ever again.
“The absolute scariest time of my life,” Meador said. “The worst smell and vision that will never get out of my head.”
Meador encouraged anyone facing a mental health challenge to seek help.
“This was not something I had ever planned to witness or have my kids witness,” Meador wrote on Facebook. “Please seek help. Or ask someone for help.”
