An overheating phone charger has been blamed for a fire in which a man was killed.
An inquest has heard that this was the likely cause of the blaze which led to the death of a 63-year-old man in Paulton in December last year.
Chin Tiong Lian, known as Philip, was found on the floor of his flat at Victoria Place, by firefighters who had been called to the property by a neighbour concerned about an acrid smell coming from one of the flats.
A post mortem report said that Mr Lian, originally from Singapore, had died from smoke inhalation, with heart problems and type 2 diabetes also contributing to his death.
He had a history of badly-managed diabetes which would lead him to collapse.
Avon coroner Dr Peter Harrowing was told that when firefighters had arrived at the unlocked flat, the fire had been out for some time but the property was full of dense black smoke.
Two officers wearing breathing apparatus went in to the living room and using a thermal imaging camera, found the accountant dead on the floor.
Fire investigation officer, Station Manager Mark Webb, said that the fire had been confined to a small area on the arm and side of a sofa.
He told the inquest his investigations had shown that a phone charger plugged into a four-gang socket on the floor which had overheated was the most likely cause of the fire.
He said that the fire had spread from the charger to shoes next to it and then to the sofa. The phone was still in place on the arm of the settee.
He said: "We put out public information reminding people that smoke is the killer rather than fire. It takes just two lungfuls to get into the system and render someone unconscious."
Mr Webb said the acrid smell and black smoke would have come from plastic and man-made materials, and lack of oxygen in the flat would have extinguished the fire.
He said: "When firefighters got into the flat it was cold and there were no hot spots so the fire would have been out for some time."
The coroner said that it was known Mr Lian had suffered from medical problems and that he may have suffered a cardiac event either initially or some time later but the fact was he was rendered unconscious very quickly and would have been unaware of the events that followed.
He recorded a verdict that Mr Lian had died from the toxic effects of carbon monoxide poisoning following a fire at his home address.
After the inquest, friend Michael Shaddick said that Mr Lian had been well-liked in the area.
Mr Lian had been captain of his local skittle team, the Supremos, based at Paulton Rovers.
Mr Shaddick said that Mr Lian had been a person never seen to get angry and was a very popular individual.
