Marshall County woman dies after lighting cigarette while using oxygen

ENOS, Oklahoma (KXII) - A Marshall County woman is dead and her husband badly burned during a smoking accident Tuesday night.

The Enos Fire Department believes the explosion happened after a woman lit a cigarette while using a nasal cannula for supplemental oxygen.

“The husband was out in the end of the driveway to flag us down,” Enos Fire Chief Joshua Gillette said. “He had bad burns to his right hand. He told us his wife was not moving.”

Gillette said if you’re on oxygen, the best practice is to not smoke, but if you have to, turn the oxygen off and move away from it.

“Oxygen is an accelerant,” Gillette said. “It burns very fast and at a very high temperature.

He said the woman was badly burnt by the high temperature.

“We found her lying face down, covered in burns,” Gillette said. “About 80 percent to 90 percent of her body, ranging from first to third-degree burns and all the clothes were burnt off of her.”

When EMS arrived, she was declared dead on the scene. Her husband was taken by his children to Texoma Medical Center.

“He was highly shaken up obviously,” Gillette said. “He burnt his hands trying to put out his wife.”

Gillette said the man is expected to live.