WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — One person has died after a fire involving bees broke out in White Settlement, officials told WFAA.
White Settlement police said a beekeeper was found dead on the ground after a fire broke out at a property near Vaquero Street and Silver Creek Road. Police said it was unclear if the man had suffered a medical emergency while tending to the bees, or if the bees had swarmed the man prior to the fire.
“As officers arrived on scene, unfortunately, as the fire was put out, they determined there's an individual that was deceased where the fire was located,” said White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook.
Cook says the victim was a 79-year-old man who lived at the home with his son and spent much of his time with honeybees. On Wednesday morning, the man walked outside to harvest the honey from the hives in his backyard. He used a bee smoker to calm the bees down. The device he used included a nozzle, billow and fire chamber, police said. If the device had fallen to the ground, officials said, it's possible that it could've started a fire in the surrounding vegetation.
The incident remains under investigation, police said, while adding that the man's identity is not being released until next of kin have been notified of his passing.
Firefighters who were stung by bees during the response were not injured and did not require treatment, police added.
No other details about the incident were released.