• A lethal hold on Maine
• Alcohol-impaired susceptible to rages of fire
• Coffee brandy ranks as state's drug of choice
• A history of alcohol
• Alcohol's effects on the body
• How reporters researched and wrote this series

Alcohol contributes to hundreds of deaths of Maine people each year. The following is a selected listing of deaths from fires, accidents, motor vehicle crashes and suicides from 1991.

In each of the fatal fires, alcohol played a role in either causing the fire or preventing victims from escaping their burning homes.

FIRES

June 22, 1991

On a warm Saturday afternoon in Bath, 73-year-old James Lyons fell asleep on the porch of a two-story rooming house while a cigarette smoldered in the overstuffed chair in which he sat. Lyons died of smoke inhalation as 12-foot flames consumed the porch and the lower half of the building. The fire also killed a second tenant, Ralph Varney, 63, who died days later from burns that covered half of his body. Investigators said Lyons had been drinking during the day of the fire. His blood-alcohol level was 0.27 percent.

Aug. 4, 1991

Firefighters in Windham found Frank Morse Jr., 46, dead in the living room of his mobile home. A fire started about 9:30 p.m. in the rear of the trailer, filling Morse's home with smoke. Investigators attributed the fire to careless disposal of some type of smoking material. Morse's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent.

Dec. 13, 1991

Late on a Friday night in Wells, 32-year-old Matthew Griffin decided to warm up some food on the stove of his friend's home. He fell asleep on the couch and the pan caught fire. Pauline Sherlock, the owner of the home, escaped but Griffin did not. He died of smoke inhalation as he tried to extinguish the flames. His blood-alcohol level: 0.20 percent.

ACCIDENTS

• A 41-year-old woman died from alcohol poisoning and choking in Farmingdale on Feb. 24. Her blood-alcohol level was 0.45 percent.

• A 34-year-old man died of alcohol poisoning in Portland on Sept. 5. His blood-alcohol content was 0.39 percent.

• A 66-year-old woman fell from a balcony in South Bristol on Aug. 22. Her blood-alcohol level was 0.363 percent.

• A 38-year-old man was crushed by a tractor in Albion on Oct. 12. His blood-alcohol level was 0.32 percent.

• A 46-year-old man fell off a float and drowned in a Vienna lake on June 27. His blood-alcohol level was 0.27 percent.

• A 28-year-old man fell from a railroad bridge in Auburn on July 13. His blood-alcohol level was 0.25 percent.

• A 28-year-old man went through the ice at Moosehead Lake in Rockwood on Jan. 20. His blood-alcohol level was 0.24 percent.

• A 22-year-old man fell from a rail bridge in Strong on July 1. His blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent.
  

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

• A 33-year-old male driver died when his car hit a tree in Newburgh on April 5. His blood-alcohol level was 0.31 percent.

• A 22-year-old male driver died when his car hit a tree in Pembroke on April 14. His blood-alcohol level was 0.30 percent.

• A 22-year-old male passenger died when the car he was riding in hit a tree in Jim Pond Township on April 13. His blood-alcohol level was 0.27 percent.

• A 50-year-old male driver died when his pickup hit a wall and rolled in Berwick on July 21. His blood-alcohol level was 0.27 percent.

• A 32-year-old male driver died when his car hit another car in Smithfield on Sept. 26. His blood-alcohol level was 0.26 percent.

• A 41-year-old male driver died when his car hit a house in South Portland on March 10. His blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent.

• A 21-year-old male motorcyclist died when his bike hit a utility pole in Eddington on May 12. His blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent.

• A 58-year-old male snowmobiler died when his machine hit a car in Smyrna on March 24. His blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent.

SUICIDES

• A 49-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Oakland on May 9. His blood-alcohol level was 0.42 percent.

• A 52-year-old woman hung herself in Falmouth on Aug. 28. Her blood-alcohol level was 0.352 percent.

• A 35-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Dover-Foxcroft on April 25. His blood-alcohol level was 0.31 percent.

• A 29-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Brewer on July 11. His blood-alcohol level was 0.28 percent.

• A 34-year-old man hanged himself in Brunswick on April 25. His blood-alcohol level was 0.26 percent.

• A 25-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Cornville on April 5. His blood-alcohol level was 0.25 percent.

• A 59-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Levant on June 26. His blood-alcohol level was 0.25 percent.

• A 66-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Oakfield on Jan. 2. His blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent.