T’puram: A 38-year-old man died of burns after a fire engulfed his house at Manvila near Kazhakkoottam on Wednesday afternoon. The deceased Sujith succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Govt Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.According to the police, Sujith and his brother Ranjith were inside the house when the fire broke out around 2.15pm. Both were reportedly resting when the fire started in a room on the upper floor of the two-storey house. They were unable to escape as the flames spread rapidly and took refuge in a bathroom in an attempt to save themselves.Locals alerted the fire and rescue services after noticing smoke billowing from the house and hearing cries for help. A team from Kazhakkoottam fire station rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire and rescued the two men. They were shifted to the hospital, where Sujith later died.Preliminary findings suggest that a spark from a cigarette may have ignited a mattress, piles of discarded paper and clothes inside the room, triggering the fire. However, the police said the exact circumstances leading to the incident would be established through a probe.The house was completely gutted by the fire. At the time of the incident, Sujith’s wife, Archana, was at work, while their daughter Karthika, a Class VII student, was at school. Sujith and his family occupied the upper floor, while his parents and elder brother’s family lived on the ground floor.The incident has also raised questions among locals about how a suspected cigarette spark could have led to the entire house being gutted.Kazhakkoottam Police have registered a case of unnatural death and initiated an investigation. Sujith’s body has been shifted to the mortuary and will be handed over to his relatives after the postmortem examination.
