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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
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Man Burned in Brooklyn Storefront Explosion Dies, Police Say

By Ben Fractenberg | October 22, 2014 2:30pm
 Mohammad Saram, 22, who was severely burned after an explosion at 910 McDonald Ave. in Brooklyn Tuesday passed away from his wounds, a police spokeswoman said Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. 
Man Burned in Brooklyn Explosion Passes Away
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BROOKLYN — The man set ablaze by an explosion in a Borough Park storefront Tuesday afternoon died from his burns, a police spokeswoman said. 

Mohammad Saram, 22, was injured when Acetone that he was using to process tobacco products for hookah pipes at 910 McDonald Ave. ignited, setting him on fire about 1:40 p.m., NYPD and FDNY officials said.

Witnesses said Saram ran out of the shop still alight, begging for help and then collapsed on the ground beneath the elevated F train. The clothes were completely off his body.

"He was just saying, 'Help me. Help me,'" electronics store worker Alex Mayer, 36, told DNAinfo. "He was falling in and out of consciousness. His eyes were rolling back, so I yelled keep breathing. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen."

 

Saram was rushed to Maimonides Hospital and later taken to the New York-Presbyterian Hospital burn unit, but police said he could not be saved.

He suffered burns to more than 90 percent of body, including first, second and third degree burns, sources said.

There were no illegal substances or contraband found in the storefront after the fire, according to the NYPD.

Several local business owners said the storefront used to house a dental business but had been shuttered for at least several months.