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Man Burned in Massive Fire at Mass. Gas Station Dies Weeks Later

Witnesses and mechanics there said they heard a loud explosion, and flames and thick smoke poured out of the gas station and auto repair shop

The man who was severely burned in a massive fire at a gas station in Mansfield, Massachusetts, in September has died, authorities said Wednesday.

Ronnie Stanovitch was identified as the victim by the Bristol District Attorney's Office. They said he was welding while working on a car in the garage at Cannan Fuels Gas Station on Sept. 25 when combustible materials ignited.

Witnesses and mechanics there said they heard a loud explosion, and flames and thick smoke poured out of the gas station and auto repair shop.

Stanovitch was flown to a hospital in Boston with serious injuries, police said at the time.

"It's sad to say, but he died doing what he loved doing," said John Stanovitch, the victim's nephew.

Ronnie Stanovitch died Tuesday, just a day after John Stanovitch buried his grandmother.

"I think he's looking down upon us and realizing how much people cared and loved him," he said.

An image the Mansfield police chief shared on Twitter showed flames engulfing the station, but firefighters were able to put out the flames before they reached the nearby gas pumps. They were seen spraying down a garage with a charred roof, with a burnt-out car nearby.

Mechanic Chris Metrano was working at the shop when he heard a blast and ran inside with the shop's owner to find Stanovitch "engulfed in flames," he told NBC10 Boston at the time.

Witness Shannon Adams said the station owner wasted no time in putting the fire out on the man: "The owner of the gas station immediately reacted, grabbed the fire extinguisher, put the fire out, they got the clothes off the gentleman."

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