ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — The condition of an 84-year-old Oro Valley man who was hospitalized after he was stung more than 2,000 times by bees is improving.

The man has been placed in the hospital intensive care unit and is doing better, Golder Ranch Fire Battalion Chief Will Seeley said.

The man was attacked Wednesday by a hive located in a shed behind his home. There were close to 50,000 bees in the shed, Seeley said.

“The bees just do their thing until someone sets them off. So we don’t know what this gentleman did to set them off,” Seeley said.

The man’s neighbor rushed to help him before firefighters and police arrived, authorities said.

Police tried to use fire extinguishers to get the bees away from the man before firefighters got him into their truck where some of the bees followed. The man was then taken to Oro Valley Hospital by ambulances that arrived on the scene, Seeley said. The man was talking and breathing on his own at the time, Seeley added.

He sustained close to twice the lethal dose of bee venom, doctors said.

Neighbors say they had noticed an unusual amount of bees earlier that day.

“I was driving home at 5:30 and my wife called and told me to be careful because there are bees in the area and not to stand outside,” said Christopher Zearley, one of the man’s neighbors.

Calls to the fire department for help with swarms of bees are common, Seeley said.

The hive has since been removed.