Tucheng Fire in Early Morning, Elderly Man Suspected of Causing Blaze by Lighting Candles After Power Outage, Dies

(Central News Agency reporter Wang Hong-guo, New Taipei, June 22) A fire broke out in an old bungalow on Jincheng Road Section 1 in Tucheng District around 1 AM today. Firefighters responded quickly and extinguished the blaze, but a bedridden elderly man in his 70s died. As the residence had been without power for a long time, it is suspected that the fire was caused by lighting candles. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Firefighters received a report of a bungalow fire at 1:35 AM today and dispatched 29 vehicles and 71 personnel to the scene. The fire was completely extinguished in just over 10 minutes. A search revealed a deceased individual in the bedroom, who was clearly deceased. The fire originated in the living room among miscellaneous items, burning an area of approximately 20 square meters.

Firefighters have preliminarily learned that the deceased had been bedridden due to illness for a long time, and the affected residence had been without electricity for about two years. The cause of the fire is suspected to be the lighting of candles or mosquito coils. The detailed cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Tucheng District Office stated that the owner of the bungalow is a 79-year-old man surnamed Lin, and the deceased is his 74-year-old brother. The brother moved in with his elder brother in the middle of last year. Both are low-income individuals and are recipients of meal delivery and living subsidies from the district office. The elder brother is currently receiving emergency shelter from the district office. (Editor: Zhang Ming-kun) 1150622

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