This Professor Was Taking an Ice-Cream Break. Then He Saw a Fire. Then … Boom.

U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dan Reichart, an astronomy professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was taking an afternoon break from his work on the campus’s Morehead Planetarium to grab some ice cream. As he was making his way across McCorkle Place, around 3 p.m. on Thursday, he saw a fire working its way up the Davie Poplar, a historic tree on the campus.

For an experienced Eagle Scout like him, as the professor later told The Chronicle by email, the seemingly small fire was something he thought he could handle. What he didn’t expect was an explosion that threw him back more than 20 feet, as caught on video by a student.

Warning: The video is graphic.

Video courtesy of Dawn Goodfriend: pic.twitter.com/ef95QlqCEE

— The Daily Tar Heel (@dailytarheel) November 2, 2017

Mr. Reichart was rushed to UNC Hospitals, where he is being treated for first- and second-degree burns on his face and arms. His left arm might need a skin graft, he said in an email.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Reichart lightened the mood by observing he’d received “a very inexpensive haircut.” Colleagues wished him a speedy recovery and offered their own jokes. Bryan Tobias, an astronomer at the University of Texas at San Antonio, wrote: “Didn’t we warn you about up-close low-yield supernova research?” Adam Trotter, a researcher in UNC’s physics and astronomy department, said, “I think we have a new candidate statue to replace Silent Sam.”

His students — he’s teaching Astronomy 101 to about 250 students this semester — have sent him encouraging emails and posts on Facebook, as have faculty members at colleges across the United States. Students also helped him before first responders arrived, he said.

The professor’s current research is on optical and radio robotic telescopes and introductory astronomy education. His work on gamma-ray bursts in 1999 earned him a spot in Science magazine’s top 10 scientific breakthroughs. He’s been a professor at UNC for 15 years, and leads the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network.

Mr. Reichart never saw the man who started the fire, but the police have a person in custody who is undergoing a mental evaluation, according to the Orange-Chatham district attorney’s office.