The last cigarette, perhaps, was fatal for Giovanni Micali. The fire in his home took him away last night at 2. A blaze that showed rescuers the state of discomfort in which this 74-year-old lived in that house on the second floor of a house in Altolia, one of the most isolated villages in the city.
A few dozen residents, for a community in the south of the hills of Messina that yesterday found itself having to deal with sudden death of a man known to all. Often alone (not only in that house), in the warm evening before he had been seen wandering apparently aimlessly (someone described him in confusion) through the streets of Altolia. Until he returned home.
The alarm went off at two in the morning. The neighbors saw the flames and called the Fire Department, but as soon as they arrived they realized that there was nothing more they could do for Giovanni Micali. He was found half-charred on his bed. The room was half-destroyed by the flames, but not the rest of the house. Many cigarette butts scattered everywhere and could be the clues (a candle is the other hypothesis) that lead to the cause of the fire. Anything contained in that house that bore witness to a life on the edge of discomfort and well within solitude, could have caught fire and led to the death of the 74-year-old who, for who knows what reason, did not have the chance to react, escape or raise the alarm. The last unextinguished cigarette could also have made the sheets catch fire, leaving no escape for the pensioner.
At 4am, once the fire was put out, it was the turn of the Carabinieri of the Southern Companyled by Captain Ettore Pagnano to take note of the death of Giovanni Micali. The coroner was also on site and could only confirm the death due to the combined action of the flames and smoke that could have intoxicated Giovanni Micali who had some pathologies, including diabetes.
Deputy Prosecutor Alice Parialò did not deem it necessary to perform an autopsy and ordered the body to be returned to the family this morning.
Giovanni Micali has never had a steady job in his life. He did what he could and with some occasional jobs to make ends meet. Given his loneliness, he had been “adopted” by some neighbors who invited him to spend time or have lunch with them.
