MIDWOOD (WABC) --
A man who was badly burned in a small explosion in a building in Brooklyn early Tuesday afternoon died Wednesday.The victim, 22-year-old Saram Mohammed, was injured in the fire in a basement on McDonald Avenue in the Midwood section just before 1:40 p.m. The building is across from a Jewish Seminary and an all-girls school.
A liquid used in connection with smoking hookah ignited, and there was some sort of explosion. The victim, who may have rented the lower level for business, was inside.
Witnesses said he ran across the street, completely ablaze, before several Good Samaritans jumped in to help.
Mohammed's clothing was burned from his body, and firefighters were on the scene in minutes. But two Good Samaritans -- a truck driver and a businessman -- brought him to the ground and put out the flames.
"I hung up the phone and I started chasing him," passerby Alex Mayer said. "And I'm like, 'Drop and roll! Drop and roll!' I caught up with a half block up, when he finally dropped."
"He dropped on his side to roll, but he was still on fire," the truck driver, Claude, said. "And I took the fire extinguisher out of the truck and I sprayed him...It put the fire out."
The man was taken to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition with severe burns over roughly 90 percent of his body. He was transferred to the Weill Cornell burn unit, where he passed early Wednesday.
The death is being investigated as an accident, with the fire caused by the use of hookah pipes and acetone. Authorities do not believe any criminality was involved.
The space where he was utilizing the substance was not well ventilated, which likely led to the explosion. No contraband or illegal substances were discovered at the location.
