55-year-old dies in attempt to rescue parents from fire

AMMAN — A 55-year-old man died of carbon monoxide poisoning while attempting to save his parents from a fire in the northern city of Irbid on Tuesday, official sources said.

The victim, a grocery store owner, was in his apartment when he heard screams from his parents’ apartment in the same building in the town of Barha at 6:30am, a senior official source said.

The man rushed to check on them and noticed heavy smoke coming from their door, the source told The Jordan Times.

“The fire was in the kitchen, and when the victim attempted to extinguish it he was engulfed by thick smoke and extensive heat, which caused him to lose consciousness,” the source explained.

Firefighters rushed to the scene, extinguished the flames and took the victim to hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival, according to a statement by the Civil Defence Department (CDD).

The victim’s parents escaped the blaze unharmed, according to the source.

A team of government pathologists headed by Ali Shotar concluded after performing an autopsy that the victim died of smoke inhalation, a medical source said.

“The victim also suffered from minor burns on different parts of his body,” the medical source told The Jordan Times.

A CDD statement said an electrical short circuit in the kitchen caused the fire.