The Wire actor Bobby J Brown died recently in a barn fire at his Maryland home, making him the third cast member of the acclaimed HBO show to pass away since December.
According to authorities and a statement on social media from his daughter, Reina, the 62-year-old Brown had gone into a barn at his residence in the St Mary’s county community of Chaptico at about 10pm on 24 February to try to jumpstart a car. It evidently ignited during the attempt, and Brown asked his wife for a fire extinguisher.
The blaze had quickly spread throughout the barn by the time she came back with the extinguisher, and she burned her hands trying to reach him, the Maryland state fire marshal’s office said in a statement. Meanwhile, Brown’s family also summoned firefighters to the home and told them he was trapped within the fiery barn.
They subsequently found him inside and pronounced him dead on the scene, the fire marshal’s office said.
Citing a statement from the state chief medical examiner’s office, the news outlet People reported that Brown’s death resulted from diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation, and it was determined to be an accident. The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
A statement posted online by Reina Samara Brown called losing her father “devastating”.
“It hurts in a way that sits heavy in my chest and does not move,” she wrote, in part. “I would give anything to hear his voice again, to see him one more time, and to have one more conversation.
“The suddenness of it is overwhelming. One ordinary evening can become the last moment you ever get.”
Beside asking for prayers for her family, Brown’s statement implored people to “sit with” their parents and “ask the extra question” about how they are doing no matter how busy it may seem.
“Stay a little longer,” Brown’s statement said. “Our schedules feel so important until something like this happens and you realize what actually matters.”
According to his Internet Movie Database (IMDb) page, Brown grew up in Washington DC and was a champion amateur boxer before he embarked on an acting career that began with appearances in cop shows such as Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Perhaps his most recognizable role was on the lauded crime drama The Wire, in which he had an eponymous role as an officer in 12 episodes during the show’s run from 2002 to 2008.
He more recently appeared in the 2022 HBO miniseries We Own This City, which starred Jon Bernthal.
Brown’s death came weeks after contributors and viewers of The Wire mourned the deaths of series actors James Ransone and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
The 46-year-old Ransone, who portrayed petty criminal Ziggy Sobotka on the The Wire, died by suicide on 19 December. Whitlock, who was 71 and portrayed corrupt politician Clay Davis on the show, died 11 days after Ransone.
Other cast members of The Wire who had died previously included Michael Kenneth Williams, Lance Reddick and Reg E Cathey, who respectively portrayed the stick-up man Omar, the police Lt Cedric Daniels and political operative Norman Wilson.
