Detectives investigating the death of a man who caught fire in Haringey are appealing for information and witnesses.

Shortly after 13:00hrs on Sunday, 17 September, emergency services were called to a man ablaze in Orchard Place N17, near to Williams House.

Members of the public made efforts to put the fire out and called police.

Officers, London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade attended the location. The fire was quickly extinguished by LFB and the man was taken to a specialist hospital outside of London by London’s Air Ambulance.

No property was damaged as a result of the fire.

The man who died has been identified as John Nolan, 70, who was originally from County Mayo in Ireland, but was living in Tenterden Road, N17. He was a retired Construction worker who was unmarried.

A post-mortem examination on 27 September gave cause of death as severe burns. An inquest will open at Barnet Coroner’s Court on 13 March 2018.

The cause of the blaze was investigated by specialist LFB investigators, and no accelerant was found.

Detectives from Haringey CID are investigating. Enquiries continue to establish the circumstances. No arrests have been made and the death is being treated as unexplained at this time.

The investigating officer, PC Damien Ait-Amer, said: “We have spoken with a number of witnesses who saw Mr Nolan abalze, but we have yet to establish how the fire started.

“Mr Nolan was a well-liked member of the community and none of our enquiries so far have indicated that he had been involved in a dispute of any sort. Nor does any account given by witnesses suggest that he had been in contact with another person at the time of the fire.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident but has yet to speak with police is urged to call PC Damien Ait-Amer via 101. You can also tweet information to police via @MetCC.

UPDATE: May 2018 

However, coroner Andrew Walker concluded on Tuesday that the retired construction worker, 70, originally from Swinford, died as a result of “accidental ignition of clothing”.

“It’s likely that Mr Nolan accidentally set his clothes on fire whilst lighting a cigarette,” Mr Walker told North London Coroner’s Court.

(Reported by The Irish Times, May 22, 2018)