Closer up, I could see he was stick thin and in his 30s, and I thought I recognised him. Sure enough, when I rounded the corner he was outside our block, prodding his front door key at the lock in the uncoordinated way drunks do. By the time I reached the door he had disappeared down the corridor and into his ground-"oor apartment.

That night I lay in bed wondering about the drunk man two "oors below me. A chain smoker, I reckoned; any time I saw him he was smoking. Even in the apartment block's common areas, where smoking is prohibited, he had often strolled casually past me, a lit cigarette between his lips.

I wondered if he was awake right now. He might be lying in bed with the lights off, his head spinning, an ashtray on his chest and a glowing cigarette between his "ngers. And I thought, of course, of the potential consequences for every resident in the block should he drift into a stupor and let the cigarette fall from his "ngers and onto the bedclothes or the bedroom carpet.

A friend once told me how he narrowly escaped burning himself . . .

and possibly everyone else in the apartment complex in which he lived . . . to death. He had arrived home drunk in the early hours with a fancy for some home-cooked chips.

He fell asleep on the couch while the chip pan was heating up and woke, some time later, to a small, raging "re and a roomful of smoke.

Only by getting down on his hands and knees was he able to gulp down enough clean air to allow him crawl to the front door. He managed to rouse his neighbours and phone the "re service, whose of"cers' prompt response saved the building from ruin.

About 20% of those domestic "res linked to alcohol involve kitchen appliances, according to the most recent "gures available from the National Safety Council. And of the "res where alcohol was cited as a factor, 43% were believed to have been caused by someone smoking a cigarette.

"Never ever smoke when you are feeling tired, especially when you are in bed or relaxing in a chair, " the council advises.

In 2004, the last year for which statistical analysis is available, 39 people died in domestic "res. In six of every 10 cases, alcohol was suspected as a pre-"re factor. In 88% of cases, there was either no smoke alarm "tted or it was not "tted properly. Most "re deaths occur at night . . . between midnight and 6am . . . and usually at the weekend, particularly on Sundays.

January is the worst month for domestic "res. The majority of "re death fatalities occur in Dublin. Last year 10 people died in the capital and so far two people have died this year.

"Should a "re break out in your apartment, or in another apartment in your building, be ready for it, " the National Safety Council advises.

"Have a well prepared "re evacuation plan and practise it regularly. It's easy to think 'It won't happen here'. It might. The key is to be prepared for it."