A Pennsylvania man is dead after he lit himself and his home ablaze amid a pending separation from his wife who was also home at the time of the incident.
Simon Hen died in the blaze that he started at his Lancaster Township home at around 2:30 a.m., authorities said.
Hen doused himself and the upstairs of the residence in gasoline while angrily yelling, waking his two adult sons.
The sons struggled with the father over a lighter he planned to use to ignite the fire, Police Corporal Robert Burns said.
“In an attempt to get the lighter from their father, they engaged in a struggle. Unfortunately, they were unable to get the lighter from his father, who was able to ignite the gasoline, causing the fire at the residence,” Burns said.
Hen, 46, died in the fire that severely burned his two sons, ages 21 and 23, and a 19-year-old female guest.
His wife and 17-year-old daughter sustained minor burns and smoke inhalation. Burns said Hen’s act was “an apparent attempt to take the lives of his family.”
