WESTERN BUREAU:
A 73-YEAR-OLD man died in a fire at his home in Flamstead district, St. James, on Tuesday after a lit kerosene lamp overturned and destroyed his three-apartment board house.
According to the police, only the ashes of Oscar McPherson, a retired farmer, were recovered from the rubble of the structure. Mr. McPherson reportedly lived alone and was bedridden.
Statistics indicate that to date, the Montego Bay fire department has responded to 833 fires which have left four people dead since the start of the year.
Mr. McPherson's niece, his caregiver, reportedly visited him on Monday and lit the lamp before she left the dwelling. It is said that about 8:30 a.m. the following day, a blaze was seen coming from the elderly man's house. His neighbours were unable to assist him because of the intensity of the fire.
