Biographical Info

Age: 68

Additional Info: Willard was chief of the Oakwood Volunteer Fire Department.

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Willard went into the woods with a fire rake about an hour after the blaze started Saturday and never came out. His burned body was found the following day. 

Date of Incident: November 12, 2005

The Associated Press

RAVEN, Va. - The burned remains of a volunteer fire department chief were found in the woods after he went to battle a brush fire alone.

A search party found the body of Max Willard, 68, chief of the Oakwood Volunteer Fire Department, on Sunday morning.

Willard went into the woods with a fire rake about an hour after the blaze started Saturday and never came out, said Randall Ashby, Buchanan County Sheriff's chief deputy.

Ashby said it was not immediately clear whether the fire, smoke inhalation or something else caused Willard's death.

"His body had been burned by the fire," Ashby said.

The fire apparently started after a malfunctioning lawnmower ignited leaves, he said.

It spread to hundreds of acres in this southwest Virginia county. Dispatchers said the fire was mostly extinguished by Sunday night.