Another reason not to sleep, smoke or get drunk at work

I've heard of maybe dozing off for a few minutes at work, but the story of the drunk electrician who fell asleep while smoking a cigarette and causing a fire at work should win some kind of award.

And he didn't work at just any old place, such as a factory or office building -- he worked at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery, a world-famous museum, according to a Reuters story.

The fire started in an engineering building next to the main gallery on Saturday and damaged technical equipment, but not any artwork.

A police source told RIA news agency on Sunday that the 49-year-old workman caused the fire, but museum officials were still looking into the cause. Preliminary police reports were that the man fell asleep with a lit cigarette when he was drunk.

Talk about three strikes. Smoking at work? Maybe. Falling asleep? Maybe. Drunk? That's usually cause for firing. But all three? Bad luck and some bad decisions to make at work.

Officials say the man is in intensive car and can't yet give testimony on the accident. That's a discussion I'd like to hear.

Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job search at www.talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com