Father-of-five killed in blaze
A father-of-five has died following a fire at a bungalow in Hednesford where he had lived for just two weeks.
Paul Higgins, who had just turned 43, died at the scene of the blaze in Foster Avenue at 12.20pm yesterday.
Today Paul's family paid tribute to the man they described as a 'bubbly chap', who liked having a laugh.
Police officers were called after firefighters from Cannock station had been alerted to the ground-floor kitchen fire and found Mr Higgins when they forced their way in.
Following investigations it has been confirmed the cause of the fire was accidental – possibly started by a chip pan.
Paul was a self-employed scaffolder and had moved into the council-owned bungalow, occupied by his father Frederick, just two weeks ago while he found a new place to live after splitting with his long term partner. His father was not caught up in yesterday's fire. Paul was the second oldest of four brothers – Malcolm, Trevor and Andrew – and had lived in or around Hednesford most of his life.
Today Malcolm said the family were struggling to come to terms with their sudden loss. He said his brother lived for his children, Dale, Stacey, Chloe and Jade.
Paul also lost a daughter 18 years ago at the age of 18 months old.
Malcolm said: "He was bubbly and liked to have a laugh with the lads – everyone having a joke. He also liked a sing-song and was a fan of karoake. He was a regular at The Prairie Farm pub in Cannock and he liked a game of darts once in a while, although pool was his game."
