Fires claim two lives

Two men died from carbon monoxide poisoning in fires caused by lit cigarettes on Wednesday. Sergiu Barbu, spokesman for the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service, has told Info-Prim Neo that the interval between the two fires was about two hours. The first fire broke out in a house in Briceni town. A man aged 74 was found dead by his relatives in the bed with the burned bedclothes. Another fire occurred at about 12.00 in a house in the municipality of Balti. The fire destroyed the bedlinen and other objects in a room. Called by the neighbors, the firefighters extinguished the fire and found the body of the owner aged 70. The police are investigating the cases. According to preliminary inquiries, the fires were the cause of reckless smoking. A number of 1,939 fires have happened in Moldova this year. They caused 130 deaths, including of four children.