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The careless handling of smoking materials caused a fire in a motel room that left a 71-year-old man in critical condition.
Grand Island Fire Capt. Mark Bonser said investigators determined smoking materials ignited a towel on the floor and then the carpet caught on fire. The fire burned a 3-foot wide circle on the carpet near a couch, he said.
The incident occurred at about 9:38 p.m. Sunday at the Relax Inn, 507 W. Second St.
Robert Fitzsimmons was in the room when the fire started. Bonser said he suffered some burns but his primary injury was from smoke inhalation. Any time that manmade materials burn, toxic fumes are released, he said.
The fire was discovered after someone in the room directly above Fitzsimmons' room smelled smoke and alerted the motel's management. A manager called Fire Station 1 and asked firefighters to do a smoke investigation, Bonser said.
When firefighters with Ladder 22 and Engine 14 responded, they discovered the fire and found Fitzsimmons. He was pulled from the room by firefighters, Bonser said.
Investigators haven't been able to speak to Fitzsimmons about the incident because he is in the burn unit at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Bonser said. He was flown there from St. Francis Medical Center on Sunday.
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