76-Year-Old Pennsylvania Hunter Dies in Treestand Fire

Raymond Seville Jr. passed away from smoke inhalation after attempting to light a propane heater in his treestand. Image by Bill Konway

A Pennsylvania hunter tragically passed away when he was unable to escape his treestand after it caught fire.

According to Fox 9, 76-year-old Raymond Seville Jr. died from smoke inhalation on November 25 while hunting from his stand in Belfast Township, Fulton County.

His wife said she and Seville were in the stand together when he decided to light a propane heater that was stored in the stand.

She said Seville opened the valve on the propane tank to supply fuel to the heater. After he attempted to ignite it several times, flames formed around the bottom of the heater that was on the floor of the treestand.

"She stated smoke became unbearable in a short amount of time, and she tried to get her husband from the tree stand who had mobility issues," Coroner Berley Souders told FOX Television Stations.

The wife tried to help her husband out of the stand, but was overcome by smoke and had to escape to get fresh air before re-entering the treestand, which at that point was engulfed in flames. She was unable to pull her husband out.

Seville’s obituary reads, “Ed was an outdoorsman. He loved hunting; he especially enjoyed hunting out west. He also enjoyed attending sales, his John Deere tractors, and first and foremost, he loved his family and friends. His big hearty laugh, which could be picked out in a crowd, will be missed.”