Fatal fires blamed on smoking materials
Newton, Lowell blazes kill 2
the improper disposal of smoking materials was the most likely cause of separate fires in newton and lowell this month that claimed the lives of two men, officials said thursday.
on sunday, newton firefighters rushed to 1243 Walnut st. around 8:30 a.m. where 911 callers reported a two-family home was on fire, the Globe reported. Residents of the secondfloor unit safely evacuated and one resident on the first floor escaped without serious injury, officials said.
firefighters learned one man was still inside the first floor and attempted unsuccessfully to rescue him. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. He was identified 69-year-old scott patz.
Investigators concluded the fire began near a living room couch because of the improper disposal of smoking materials, newton fire Chief Gregory C. Gentile and other officials said in a statement thursday.
“Mr. patz and his loved ones remain in our thoughts at the newton fire Department and across our city,” said Gentile said in a statement. “We also want to remind our residents that more than 100 Massachusetts residents have lost their lives in smoking fires over the past 10 years, and hundreds more have been injured or lost their homes.”
fire officials urged anyone who does smoke to use a heavy ashtray with water or sand nearby and to fully extinguish smoking materials.
patz’s death was the third fire fatality in newton since December, city officials said. A man in his 80s died following a January house fire on lincoln Road in newton, and a man in his 70s died in late December following a house fire on Allen Avenue, according to news reports.
In lowell, firefighters responded to a residence on farmland Road on March 16 that claimed the life of 56-yearold Charles bearden, officials said. the fire began near a bed in the corner of a second-floor room and was likely started by “unsafe disposal of smoking materials,” officials said.
Another adult sustained serious injuries that were not considered life threatening, officials said.
lowell fire Chief phillip A.J. Charron expressed sorrow at bearden’s death and “the loss his family has suffered.”
“I want to emphasize that there’s no truly safe way to smoke, but it’s especially dangerous to smoke when you’re drowsy or impaired. smoking materials are the no. 1 cause of fatal fires nationwide,” he said.
state fire Marshal Jon Davine said working smoke alarms were not installed in either home. “every family should have working smoke alarms on every level of their home,” he said in a statement. “A house fire can become deadly in less than three minutes. smoke alarms can give you the warning you need to get out quickly, especially when you’re sleeping.”