Yep, this whimsical sports mascot is a reference to an actual tragic disaster. See, Glenn Falls used to have a bit of a flammability issue -- not one, not two, but three Great Fires have burned down most of the town over its history, plunging its residents into poverty each time. And wouldn't it be nice if they were constantly reminded of that by someone in an inappropriately cute oversized costume?
In Scorch's introductory promo video, the silly little flame is seen striking down a firefighter and doing a jaunty Fortnite-like dance over the body. Scorch and his hero-murdering antics went over about as well as expected, and the team canned the anthropomorphic force of destruction. Afterward, Flames president Brian Petrovek admitted that "[w]hile it seemed in good taste when it was on the drawing board, it is now evident that it was in poor taste."
Must have been a hell of a drawing.