Crime & Safety

Man Dies After Fire Rips Through Garage

A 52-year-old man died Sunday after sustaining burns to 98 percent of his body the day before.

A Wyandotte man died Sunday from burns he sustained in a garage fire the day before.

James Mark Perez, 52, was working on his motorcycle at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday when a fire overtook his garage in the 1800 block of Electric Street.

According to Police Chief Dan Grant, Perez was draining some gas from his 2009 Harley-Davidson about two feet away from a propane space heater, which was turned on.

Find out what's happening in Wyandottewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Some sort of a flash fire occurred and it got very, very hot in the garage real quick,” Grant said. “Mr. Perez had the main door closed and the access door closed. It got so hot that it melted the plastic part of the Harley’s windshield. I’m sure he struggled to get out of there until he fell to the ground.”

Grant said Perez was alive, but unconscious, when emergency responders arrived.  He was burned over 98 percent of his body, officials said. Perez was transported to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital and later airlifted to the University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center, where he died hours later.

Find out what's happening in Wyandottewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Grant said investigators have ruled the incident “a horrible accident.”

“We’ve looked at it, and we don’t suspect any foul play,” he said. “We’ll certainly look at the autopsy results when they come in to ensure they match up with our findings.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.