Fire That Killed Four Children 'Preventable'

A fire guard and working smoke alarms could have saved the lives of four children who died in a blaze at their home earlier this year.

Their mother, Rachel Henson, survived the fire at Hulland Ward in Derbyshire in January but nine-year-old Tommy, Alisha, six, Rocco, four, and two-year-old Appolonia did not.

South Derbyshire coroner Robert Hunter returned narrative verdicts at the children's inquest and said the absence of a fire guard and removal of smoke detectors were "contributing factors" in their deaths.

The court heard that the fire started when a loose ember or log fell onto the lounge carpet.

The family were in bed, there was no fire guard, two mains smoke detectors had been disconnected and a third had no battery in it.

The open fire had been installed just three weeks before the tragedy. Ms Henson told the court she went to bed at 10pm with the "fire burning with more of a flame than usual", she had drank one and a half bottles of wine but was not "massively drunk", she said.

Her eldest son Tommy ran into her room and said: "Mum, the house is filled with something."

She said she couldn't see her hand in front of her due to heavy smoke.

She recalled that she went into Appolonia's room, opened the window and tried to push Tommy out but he was too frightened.

The coroner said there was no evidence the window had been opened, or that Ms Henson had been blown out of the window by a "backdraft", as she had previously claimed.

Mr Hunter said Ms Henson's account was "graphic and believable", but he could not say with confidence that that was how she exited the property.

"All I know I was in that window with my son in my arms," Ms Henson said.

"The next thing I knew I'm going through the air and I'm on the floor... I just knew I didn't jump and leave him.

"When I think back I know Appolonia was right there next to me as I jumped out the window but I don't think I took her I was not in that frame of mind."

The coroner said Ms Henson had used logs with a high moisture content on the fire on top of smokeless coal which would have caused the water to boil, the logs to split and then be "ejected from the fire".

He said he would be contacting the office of the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and trading standards officers about the sale of unseasoned logs, under the guise of seasoned logs.