A Dowagiac man was airlifted to an area hospital after he accidently set himself ablaze Wednesday night, according to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies with the department were dispatched around 9:34 p.m. that evening to a residence at 28897 Middle Crossing Road in Silver Creek Township, after receiving a report that a man was on fire.

Officers with the department arrived at the scene and found the victim, 46-year-old Leslie Howard Cross II, of Dowagiac, was no longer on fire, as a neighbor had extinguished the flame.

The accident occurred when Cross was attempting to exterminate a hive of insects under the ground, when he accidently set himself on fire.

Crews with Memorial Medflight transported the Dowagiac man to Bronson Hospital Burn Center in Kalamazoo by helicopter for treatment.

The accident remains under investigation.

Crews with Medflight, Pridecare Ambulance and the Indian Lake Fire Department, and officers with the Pokagon Tribal Police and Michigan State Police assisted deputies at the scene.