Bobby J. Brown, the American actor famous for the movie The Wire, dies in a barn fire US News

Actor Bobby J. Brown recently died in a barn fire at his Maryland home, making him the third cast member of the popular HBO show to die since December.

According to authorities and a statement on social media from his daughter, Rena, 62-year-old Brown went to a barn at his residence in the St. Mary’s County community of Chaptico at around 10 p.m. on February 24 to try to start the car. She apparently caught fire during the attempt, and Brown asked his wife for a fire extinguisher.

The fire quickly spread throughout the barn when she returned with the fire extinguisher, and she burned her hands trying to reach it, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement. Meanwhile, Brown’s family also called firefighters to the house and told them he was trapped inside the fire barn.

They then found him inside and pronounced him dead at the scene, the fire marshal’s office said.

A representative of the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement Friday that Brown’s death resulted from diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation, and has been determined to be an accident.

A separate statement posted online by Rena Samara Brown described the loss of her father as “devastating.”

“It hurts in a way that weighs heavy on my chest and doesn’t move,” she wrote in part. “I will do my best to hear his voice again, see him again, and have another conversation.

“The suddenness of it is overwhelming. An ordinary evening can be the last moment you have in your life.”

Along with asking for prayers for her family, Brown’s statement implored people to “sit down with” their parents and “ask the extra question” about how they are doing no matter how busy they are.

“Stay a little longer,” Brown’s statement read. “Our schedules seem so important until something like this happens and you realize what really matters.”

According to his Internet Movie Database (IMDb) page, Brown grew up in Washington, D.C. and was an amateur boxing champion before embarking on an acting career that began with appearances in police shows such as Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Perhaps his most famous role was in the crime drama The Wire, where he had a eponymous role as an officer in 12 episodes during the show’s run from 2002 to 2008.

He most recently appeared in the 2022 HBO series We Own This City, which starred Jon Bernthal.

Brown’s death came weeks after The Wire contributors and viewers mourned the deaths of series actors James Ransone and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Ransone, 46, who played small-time criminal Ziggy Sobotka on The Wire, died by suicide on December 19. Whitlock, who was 71 and played corrupt politician Clay Davis on the series, died 11 days after Ransone’s death.

Other previously deceased The Wire cast members include Michael Kenneth Williams, Lance Reddick and Reg E. Cathey, who respectively portrayed stick man Omar, police lieutenant Cedric Daniels and political activist Norman Wilson.