Man in wheelchair catches fire after falling asleep with a cigarette in his hand

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A man in a wheelchair was burned in Midtown early Saturday after falling asleep with a cigarette in his hand, police said.

The 43-year-old man was sitting outside a building on East 53rd Street near 5th Avenue just after 7 a.m. when he fell asleep holding the lit cigarette, officials said.

The snoozing smoker then dropped the burning butt into his lap, where it began to scorch him, authorities said.


Emergency responders quashed the small blaze in less than 20 minutes — but his wheelchair burned down to its frame.

He was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s with first-degree burns on his legs, police said.

“His arms were burned bad,” a nearby food cart vendor told The Post. “I saw a lot of smoke.”