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Former Waldorf VFD chief dies in truck fire
Investigators believe he set fatal blaze in pickup
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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The Waldorf man whose body was found last week in a burning truck started the fire himself, according to state fire marshals after an investigation.
A medical examiner has yet to rule the June 30 death of James Arley Hysell, 75, a suicide, and the police investigation is ongoing, according to Diane Richardson, spokeswoman for the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
Fishermen at a lake in Waldorf discovered the burning 2001 Ford Ranger on Forgotten Farm Place and reported the fire to authorities at about 8:13 p.m. When firefighters arrived, the truck, parked in the middle of the gravel road, was engulfed in flames.
The firefighters put out the blaze in about 10 minutes and then discovered Hysell's body in the driver's seat of the truck, police reported.
An autopsy at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore indicated that Hysell, 75, died from smoke inhalation and burns.
Investigators report that Hysell doused the right side of the truck cab in gasoline and set it on fire, stated a press release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. A burned plastic gasoline container was found near his body, said Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Zurolo.
Hysell retired in 1997, but worked for the past 12 years as a deliveryman at Country Florist in Waldorf.
Store owner Lorrie Anderson described him as a happy and cheerful man.
"Customers who got flowers on a regular basis would be disappointed if it wasn't him delivering them," she said. "We loved him and we loved working with him."
Hysell was a life member of the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department, where he served as chief for five years, according to the department's current chief, Dan Stevens.
"He was very dedicated and had a love for the fire department. He still used to come by and check on how things were going," he said.
Hysell often drove fire trucks for the company, said Stevens, who remembered him as being friendly and easy to talk to.
He was also a member of the First Baptist Church of St. Charles and had lived in Waldorf since 1966, according to a previous article in the Independent.
Hysell's family declined to comment on his death.
