Four perish in sleep due to suffocation

A victim suffered burns after his quilt caught fire

LAHORE:

Four persons including three labourers died due to suffocation and fire burn injuries after they slept by turning on a heater in two separate incidents in the provincial capital on Tuesday.

In the first case in Kahna, three labourers slept at night at an under-construction house in NFC society in Kahna after turning on the heater to keep themselves warm at night. Police said either the victims forgot or deliberately did not switch off the heater. Reportedly, they were found dead in the morning due to suffocation.

The deceased have been identified as Zaman, Ali Hassan and Naeem.

Separately, in Gulgasht Town, a petrol pump manager identified as Muhammad Naeem slept at night by lighting fire in his room. Reportedly, he was asleep and the fire was turned on when his quilt accidentally caught fire. The victim suffered burns and died during treatment.

Emergency Officer Rescue 1122 Farooq Ahmad, also the spokesperson for the emergency service, commented that last year at least 4,000 cases of fire were reported in Lahore only.

He said these involved deaths of the victims besides the loss to the property also. However, the worrisome thing is that the number of people who died of suffocation rather than burn injuries in these cases was higher.

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He, explaining the reason behind deaths due to suffocation, said that if the area where the gas heater is turned is closed, it eventually reduced the level of oxygen.

“Average oxygen in the air is 21%. If it is started reducing under 16%, human face breathing difficulty,” Farooq said.

In the closed area, the quantity of these gases increased and oxygen level decreased leading eventually to suffocation, he maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2022.