Emergency services believe the 77-year-old was overcome by the smoke after trying to tackle the blaze at his Cheddleton, Staffordshire, home on October 7. There were no working smoke alarms in the house to alert anyone else to the blaze. The alarm wasn’t raised until four days later, when firefighters made the discovery. An ambulance was called to the scene where it confirmed a death at the address, Stoke on Trent Live reported. “It would appear this fireplace was the man’s main source of heat which is concerning to us."

Source: Daily Mirror October 14, 2019 18:11 UTC