A California man has credited Starfield with saving his family’s life after a fire ripped through his apartment block during a late-night gaming binge.
Redditor “tidyckilla” said “Starfield saved me and my family’s life” in a post that described how an all-night gaming session on August 31, the day Starfield early access began, meant he was awake and alert to respond to a fire that local news reports say killed a person.
“I have waited for this game since the trademark rumors of 2015-2016 (don’t remember when exactly),” tidyckilla said.
“In anticipation I preordered the premium edition waiting to play this game. On the night of August 31 I decided to stay up and play as long as possible to experience this new universe. At 2:26 in the morning, while playing the game, I heard an explosion from my downstairs neighbour's apartment.
“I paused my game to see what was happening. When I opened the door I saw flames rising up our stairwell to our apartment. I immediately got my wife and cat, rushing us to safety with only minor burns. If I hadn’t been up bingeing Starfield I would have been asleep and we would have all died to smoke inhalation. I want to thank this game for saving my family and me from a horrible fate."
Tidyckilla published a number of photos of the incident, which took place in the city of Chico in northern California. According to krcrtv, one person died following the fire at the Sheridan Manor apartments, with three people trapped in a bedroom on the second floor rescued via ladder. The cause is currently under investigation.
“Wall of fire coming up the stairs as seen in the picture,” tidyckilla said in a later reddit post, “couldn’t see or breathe the whole time just had to feel my way out. Alarm didn’t go off till my wife opened the door to run.
In a seperate post on reddit, Tidyckilla said he and his wife plan to move to Nevada following the incident, which has accelerated prior plans.
Image credit: Chico Fire Department / Facebook
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
