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Fire that may have killed man at Chelsea homeless encampment appears accidental, officials say
By adamg on Fri, 02/16/2018 - 10:47am
An initial investigation of the fire at which Chelsea firefighters found a badly burned body "found some signs of accidental ignition last night," the Suffolk County District Attorney's office and State and Chelsea Police said in a statement today.
Chelsea firefighters who went to put out a brush fire in the area where Rtes. 16 and 1 come together at Webster Avenue found the body, believed to be a man's, around 6:40 p.m. yesterday.
A mattress that fire investigators said was highly flammable was found in close proximity to the body, as were cardboard debris, sterno, a cigarette pack, and other items that may indicate an accidental fire. Nonetheless, officials said, the investigation into the origin of the fire, the cause of the man’s death, and his identity is still under way.
Anybody who may have seen the fire before firefighters and state troopers arrived are asked to contact Chelsea or State Police.
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Comments
What a horrible way ...
... to spend the last minutes or so of a hard life.
Sleeping Rough
A lot of the people who won't go to shelters are people who have severe mental health issues that make it difficult to be inside with so many other people. Very sad that this is all that our state and our country is willing to do for them (i.e. nothing).
Wiling to do for them?
There are shelters for homeless people. This person unfortunately chose not to go to a shelter. Many homeless choose not to go to shelters. That doesn't mean we aren't doing something for them. We could do more yes, but we're not exactly doing nothing.
Explain
What part of "mentally ill" do you not understand?
Every part of it, obviously.
If the fire was ignited by a lit cigarette...
... then the cause was not accidental. Tobacco companies design cigarettes to keep burning even when not being smoked and left unattended.
Nicotine, part and parcel of tobacco companies’ product development, makes depression worse and depressed people sometimes withdraw from society.
His name was Steve
The homeless man in question I have sat down and talked with many times on the cold nights this winter his name was Steve he wasn't a junkie he wasn't an alcoholic he was just a man who a few years ago had a really bad string of luck that left him homeless quite a few times I would take him into McDonald's get him some food and a hot coffee to warm him up he never asked me for money but he always thank me for what I did he was a good guy and I'm glad I got to get to know him and listen to his story I hope now that he rests easy he doesn't have to be cold anymore
I got to know him too, I
I got to know him too, I helped him out a lot.. bought him winter boots and clothes etc. One of the kids who sits at the lights at KFC told me that he od’d when the fire started.. i didn’t think he was doing drugs but I could’ve been wrong, maybe he was blacked out. Either way, I’m glad someone else got to know him too. So sad.