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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Victim in wheelchair fire identifed

Catie Clark
Posted 1/17/25

ELY- The Ely Police Department has identified Marjorie Jane Hible of Ely, age 80, as the victim who suffered fatal burns while she was outdoors on a mobility scooter near the Boundary Waters Care …

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Victim in wheelchair fire identifed

Posted

ELY- The Ely Police Department has identified Marjorie Jane Hible of Ely, age 80, as the victim who suffered fatal burns while she was outdoors on a mobility scooter near the Boundary Waters Care Center. Hible died later that same day, Jan. 6, at St. Mary’s in Duluth surrounded by her family.
Hible was a resident of the care center, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility located adjacent to the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital. The center’s residents who are fit to leave the center can leave the facility and preliminary findings suggest Hible had gone outside to smoke a cigarette. While the incident remains under investigation, the state Fire Marshal’s office indicated that smoking was the likely cause of the fire.
Both the Ely Police Department and the Boundary Waters Care Center confirmed that an oxygen tank was not involved with this tragic incident. Smoking can be a particular hazard for individuals who are on oxygen, which is a fire accelerant.
While the lithium batteries that power mobility scooters are known to be a fire risk, the Timberjay could find no similar reports online of cigarettes causing a scooter to catch fire.
Boundary Waters Care Center director Adam Masloski, in a statement, said the center “is wholly dedicated to delivering the best short-term rehabilitation services and long-term care,” adding that the center is fully cooperating with local and state agencies as they continue their investigation. “We are also in contact with the family and are doing everything we can to support them and our team members during this time. Our deepest condolences go out to our beloved community member’s family and friends.”