Man dies after being pulled from flames of Bloxwich flat fire
A man has been killed in a flat fire believed to have been started by a cigarette.
The man, aged in his 70s and known locally as Mick, was pronounced dead at the scene in Bloxwich after being pulled from the flames by firefighters.
The blaze broke out at his ground-floor flat in Chase Road just before 6pm on Monday.
Fire investigators believe the blaze was started by a cigarette, but an investigation is underway. The man's death is not being treated as suspicious.
Chris Bishop, who lives nearby, saw flames leaping out of the whg flat and said firefighters deserved medals for their attempts to save him.
Crews were at the scene within three minutes after being alerted to the blaze by the ambulance service.
Mr Bishop, 51, said: "I was able to see what happened from my window and I saw the flat go up in flames. I'm just shocked.
"The lady living above him was screaming and trying to get to him.
"I think the emergency services did everything they could and they deserve a medal for their work.
"They all stood around in a circle and had a moment of silence, holding their helmets, which I thought was really poignant."
Neighbours said the victim was called Michael but known as Mick and was well-known in the local community.
Julie Lawrie, 62, said: "He was a nice person, kept himself to himself and it's just dreadful what's happened to him.
"I'm just in shock about what's happened. It's been on my mind all night and I've been getting flashbacks about it.
"It's never happened around here before and you just don't expect it, but I would say the emergency services were excellent in their response and did everything they could."
Another person who lives nearby, but did not wish to be named, said: "He was a very pleasant gentleman who was well known in the pubs around here as he did a lot of singing, mostly Billy Fury as he looked a bit like him.
"Hearing about his death and the way he died is just tragic and I hope he didn't suffer.
"He will be much missed around here because a lot of people who live around here are older people and it's a very tight-knit community."
A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "Three fire engines, crewed by a total of 13 firefighters, responded from Bloxwich, Willenhall and Walsall fire stations. The first arrived in under three minutes.
"The fire was in a ground floor flat, in a two-storey block.
"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus located and rescued a man believed to be in his mid-70s. Very sadly, the ambulance service confirmed his death at the scene.
"Our fire investigators believe that the fire was started by a cigarette."
A West Midlands Police spokesman said a joint police and fire service investigation into the cause of the blaze had been launched but confirmed that the death is not being treated as suspicious.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said it sent two ambulances, two paramedic officers and the trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene.
“Sadly, it quickly became apparent that nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene," a spokesman said.
