Fire that killed smoker aged 99 caused by discarded cigarette (From Ludlow Advertiser)

Fire that killed smoker aged 99 caused by discarded cigarette

8:00am Friday 3rd July 2009

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A CHAIN-smoking 99-year-old woman died after a discarded cigarette set fire to her house, an inquest was told.

Former headteacher Iris Jones, also known by her middle name Pauline, was killed when her three-bedroom bungalow in Mount Orchard, Tenbury Wells, caught fire in January.

Neighbours alerted to the blaze at about 6am had tried to get in to the property but were held back by thick smoke.

Firefighters arrived to find Mrs Jones unconscious in her bedroom.

They carried her to a waiting ambulance but she was confirmed dead at the scene.

An inquest at Stourport-on- Severn Coroner’s Court heard how Mrs Jones’ neighbour and good friend, Elma Meredith, had been with her the day before she died and they had watched TV together.

In a written statement, Mrs Meredith said she left her neighbour’s house at about 6pm and locked the door as she left.

Mrs Meredith said Mrs Jones was “stone deaf”, had bad eyesight and used a Zimmer frame to assist her walking. She said her neighbour smoked 20 cigarettes and usually drank half a bottle of brandy a day.

Giving evidence at the hearing, station officer Mark Forsbrook said he conducted an investigation at about 10am once the flames had been controlled.

Mr Forsbrook said the most extensive damage had been caused in the area by the sofa, where the floorboards had been badly burned.

He said there was no evidence of any electrical failures or any signs that the fire had been stated deliberately.

Mr Forsbrook, said: “I conclude the fire was caused by the discarding of smoking materials on or around the settee.”

Mrs Jones’ cause of death was given as cardio-respiratory failure due to inhalation of smoke.

Deputy Worcestershire coroner Margaret Barnard recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Mrs Jones moved to Mount Orchard in 1970 after retiring as headteacher from Pensax Primary School, near Stockton on Teme. She was a keen gardener and member of the local operatic society.

She never had children and was widowed in 1999 when her husband Hayden died.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Jones’s niece Kay Leyshon said: “We were all very fond of her and we are very sorry that she died in the way that she did.

“Despite her age, she was an independent woman who was very sharp and feisty.”

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