Firefighters perform CPR to a resident on Rancheria Creek during a grass fire response.Thursday, July 8 (8:20 a.m.)--A Midpines resident apparently succumbed to cardiac arrest while battling a grass fire on his property yesterday afternoon.

Thomas Paul Griffin, 63, apparently died while trying to extinguish a grass fire on his property on Rancheria Creek Road that he may have ignited. Firefighters performed CPR at the scene, but reportedly Griffin didn't survive. He was one of two Midpines residents that found the lost autistic boy in their neighborhood just a few weeks ago. Further details were not available this morning, but Sheriff Brian Muller has confirmed that Griffin did not sustain any injuries directly from the fire.

The blaze consumed just under an acre of vegetation and was quickly controlled and extinguished by firefighters.