Press Release  Smoking Fire Eyed as Cause of Unattended Death in Parked Vehicle

QUINCY — A man found dead in a vehicle early on Christmas Eve may have succumbed to smoke inhalation after blankets caught fire in the vehicle where he was sleeping, said Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine, and Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy.

The man, who was in his 30s, was found unresponsive by a friend at about 6:30 am on December 24. He was inside a minivan parked in the area of 45 Morrison St. in Quincy and declared dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of his death.

The death is being investigated by State Police assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s office, the Quincy Police Department, and State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office. They found heavy smoke damage and minor fire damage to the interior of the minivan, including burned blankets. The fire appeared to have self-extinguished; while its exact cause is undetermined, investigators recovered cigarette butts in the same area.

Based on the preliminary investigation, the man is believed to have been homeless and sleeping in the minivan. He would be the third person without a home to die as a result of fire this year, following a woman in Somerville on December 19 and a woman in Millbury on October 26.

###