Hoffman Estates man dies after his shed explodes

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the spelling of David Mugerditchian's wife, Therese.

A Hoffman Estates man who once heroically saved a neighbor from a burning home died Monday night from injuries sustained in a fire that erupted while he was inside his backyard shed.

David Mugerditchian had his work boots on and was headed to his job as an electrical inspector for the city of Des Plaines Monday morning, but he stopped at the back shed before leaving, according to friends.

A neighbor heard multiple explosions about 8:20 a.m. and found the 60-year-old former Marine in his yard with his clothes on fire, said Hoffman Estates Fire Department Batallion Chief Thomas Mackie.

By the time the neighbor pushed Mugerditchian to the ground and smoothened the flames, the man who friends said would do just about anything to help someone out had suffered severe burns.

Mugerditchian was rushed to St. Alexius Medical Center before being airlifted to the burn unit at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where he died Monday night, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

“We are all devastated,” said Jim Fabbrini, 50, who had known Mugerditchian for about 10 years. “We are all sitting back thinking how did this happen?”

“He was one of those personalities you gravitated to. He was so alive.”

Fabbrini said Mugerditchian, who he had coached Little League with years ago, was a safety-conscious man from his days in the Marines.

“The events of today are just not indicative of a man who lived his life in safety,” he said. “Unexpected. So final, and so quick.”

Hoffman Estates fire investigators were unable to pinpoint what caused the blaze as of late Monday night but said the fire was accidental.

In April 1997 Mugerditchian was hailed as a hero by Hoffman Estates firefighters and village President Michael O'Malley while in an emergency room hospital bed.

Mugerditchian had just rescued then 69-year-old Frank Pacey, who was trapped in the second story of his home, which eventually burned to the ground.

Although he didn't think it was a big deal at the time, if Mugerditchian hadn't headed into the black smoke filled home not once but twice to lead out his neighbor, Pacey might not have made it.

After his unexpected death late Monday, friends said Mugerditchian still had the same selfless care for others as he did back in 1997.

“He would give his shirt off his back to help somebody,” Fabbrini said. “When someone like that is around, you think how do you live without him.”

Mugerditchian is remembered as a great father and is survived by his wife, Therese, and four children: Riley, Keegan, Seth and Haley.

“He was there for his kids every step of the way,” Fabbrini said.

“He did not miss a game. I don't know how he was able to get to all those games.”

When firefighters arrived Monday morning, the roughly 10-by-12-foot shed was engulfed in flames, and as they worked to extinguish the fire, the blaze spread to an electrical pole behind the structure.

“Within a matter of minutes, the lines for the house burned through,” Mackie said.

One came down on the fence and was sparking.”

At that point, firefighters backed away from the shed as it continued to burn.

“I looked at the shed where it happened. I couldn't tell if it was a wooden shed or a metal shed,” Fabbrini said.

ComEd was able to shut off electricity to the lines about 30 minutes later, allowing firefighters to extinguish the flames.

Investigators estimated the damage to the structure and its contents at $15,000.