A brother pulled his twin to safety from a house fire in Brown County Wednesday afternoon, June 13.

A fire broke out at about 2:30 p.m. in the home at 185 Lower Owl Creek Road. Dallas “Dak” Kelp, chief of the Brown County (Nashville) Fire Department, said firefighters arrived to find the fire contained to one room and a man suffering from second- and third-degree burns over most of his body.

The victim, identified as Richard Zieg, had been dragged from the burning room by his brother, Zachary. The twins are in their 40s.

Kelp said emergency responders removed Richard the rest of the way from the house. They loaded him an ambulance to await the arrival of a medical helicopter.

About 30 minutes after the 911 call to dispatch, a StatFlight medical helicopter landed in a field in front of the two-story home.

Richard was airlifted to the burn unit at Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis. Today, a hospital representative said he was listed in stable condition.

Kelp said firefighters believe the cause of the fire was Richard falling asleep while smoking.

“We’re confident it was caused by smoking,” Kelp said. “He fell asleep on the couch.”

Firefighters did not know if Richard was home alone at the time.

The Zieg family declined comment.

The house sustained fire damage to one room and smoke damage throughout. Kelp said it was extinguished quickly.

 “It had pretty much burned itself out by the time we got there,” he said.