Man rescued from Minersville fire on April 14 succumbs to burns

The man rescued from the third floor of a burning home in Minersville on April 14 has died.

Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio said in a news release that Mario R. Ramirez, 77, died at 2:25 p.m. Sunday at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown.

The cause of death was due to complications from burns on 34.5% of his body from the fire. Buglio ruled the manner of death accidental.

Ramirez was pulled from the third-floor window at 617 N. Second St. by Oscar Rivera, 48, who lives across the street, in a dramatic scene captured by cellphone video.

Rivera said he couldn’t stand by and do nothing, so he helped.

Minersville firefighters then retrieved Ramirez, Rivera and a woman who had also escaped from the third-floor window from the roof.

On Monday, Rivera talked about how when he walks out the door of his North Second Street home, he sees the burned out remains from where he rescued Ramirez.

“It’s so sad. It brings me back to that day I was trying to help him out,” he said. “It’s not a happy ending. It’s bad.”

A next-door neighbor who was contacted by a family member told Rivera that Ramirez had succumbed to his injuries.

Rivera said the experiences the day of the fire are “something I will never forget.”

He’s also reminded by a smoke alarm that beeps every few minutes in the distance. He believes it is at the burned out remains of either 617 or 619 N. Second St.

He often noticed Ramirez walking up and down North Second Street. Ramirez would also greet Rivera’s children, who also now know that the man died.

“They were sad about it,” Rivera said.

No cause determined

The fire at approximately 12:45 p.m. displaced 19 people and damaged six homes, from 609 to 619 N. Second St.

Minersville Police Chief Michael Combs said Monday he had heard about the death.

“We had hoped he was going to make it,” Combs said.

Meanwhile, authorities have not been able to determine a cause of the fire.

“At this point, we are classifying it as undetermined,” Combs said about state police Fire Marshal Joseph Hall, the fire department and police.

“It started on the rear porch (of 617),” Combs said, adding they don’t believe it was anything criminal.