Room burnt down

Francis Lapira, 73, woke up on Saturday to find the room he used for his recreation and hobbies, down the road from his home in St Nicholas Street, Valletta, burnt to ashes.

No one was hurt in the fire, though his dog, Max, was lucky to be alive. The dog was in the room when Mr Lapira was informed of the fire at around 7 a.m. But it was let out unhurt, despite the engulfing smoke and flames.

Although Mr Lapira spent the morning emptying out blackened and destroyed paraphernalia, accumulated over the years, he still had a smile on his face and managed to be light-hearted about having lost all his tools and 'toys'.

What had been neatly stacked and labelled in an orderly fashion was now a mound of black rubbish in the road.

Known as Cikku s-Serp to his neighbours and friends, who gathered around the burnt-out room in sympathy, the former seaman offered them cans of beer that had not been destroyed by the flames.

The Civil Protection Department, which put out the fire, said the blaze was probably caused by an electrical fault.