Two men of nearly the same age, being inebriated, died as result of the fires caused by burning cigarettes. According to the Department of Exceptional Situations, both incidents took place on October 8, at the difference of an hour. In the first case the fire broke out in an apartment on Trandafirilor Str. of the Capital. The owner, aged 55, fell asleep with a lit cigarette and died because of the intoxication provoked by the smoke and gases emanated by the burning bedclothes. Exactly an hour later, a similar case happened in a building on the Baiducov str. in Balti municipality. The owner, of 57 years old, was found dead because of the intoxication with burning gases in similar circumstances. During Saturday and Sunday, 21 fires were registered in the R. of Moldova. The number of cases since the beginning of the year reached 1862 fires, in which 176 persons lost their lives, including 11 children.