Smoking in Bed a Mechanic I knew foresaw his own death by fire .

Yes  a Fire is a scary thing especially if it happens while you are sleeping. I had nightmares for years  when in second grade  we lost almost an entire family in Carrick where I lived at the time and Ronny one of 2 boys to die was in my second grade class at St. Basils .

Yes it still haunts me to this day every time I ride past where the home once sat.

So you can imagine just how haunting some one I knew prediction of his own death by fire  has haunted me . This is a true story I blanked the last names to Give Bill his privacy. and have not posted it as a link.

I meet Bill a very talented Truck Mechanic at a customer of mine in the south hills who does
Asphalt work. Bill was always a  fun guy to talk to any time he was always courteous and helpful any time I needed ladders or even a second hand. when  I was in the  equipment repair shop working on the phones
or alarm system .
One day in fall of 2000 I had to change a smoke detector in the shop that was causing false alarms
and when I showed it to Bill as to what the problem was he said it was a good thing they had smoke and heat detectors in the shop as he is always worried about fire as he and friend are smokers and have fallen a sleep in bed  .He was always worried he would die in a fire because of it.
I said You have smoke detectors in your place and he said he did  because he was so worried.

Sadly his words would come true as I woke up and started reading the Post Gazzette one spring morning in 2002  and there was his picture along with a friend he had died in a fire from a discarded cigarette. I was devastated as where his fellow employees  who worked with him.

The following is an Excerpt from Post Gazette 

BEECHVIEW: Fire blamed on smoking

A house fire in Beechview that killed two people was caused by a discarded cigarette, Pittsburgh Fire Chief Peter Micheli said yesterday.

The blaze broke out shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday at  Kenberma Ave. It started in the upstairs rear bedroom of the two-story brick home.

Janet M. 55 the home's owner, was found dead at the scene in that bedroom. She was identified through dental records. Micheli said she is the mother of a city firefighter, whom he declined to identify.

The second victim, William W., 52, was found badly injured in another bedroom. He was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before midnight.

Micheli said investigators ruled the fire accidental. They attributed its origin to "discarded smoking material," which Micheli said meant a cigarette. Someone was probably smoking in bed, he said.

Investigators have an idea why the victims were unable to escape from the burning house, but Micheli said he could not release the information publicly.

There were no smoke detectors in the house, Micheli said.

Damage to the building and its contents was estimated at $25,000.

 Please if your going to smoke be careful do not smoke in bed and have working smoke detectors.

We have too many fire deaths  with out helping them along