Discarded cigarette started deadly fire at Wolverhampton home

Mary Ford, 91, of Slade Road, Wolverhampton, died on April 12 after throwing away a cigarette she had lit during the night, not realising it was still alight.

The flame from the cigarette grew due to newspapers kept in one of her downstairs rooms and spread quickly to the downstairs room where she slept.

Her son, Raymond Ford, spoke at Oldbury Coroners Court of how he found her on the morning of April 12.

He had started to go to her house every morning for the six months previous due to her becoming 'forgetful' in her old age and to check on her.

However, that morning the house was so full of smoke that he couldn't see her sat on the end of her bed.

Mr Ford said: "She lived independently and although she had to use a walking stick to get around, she was still able to look after herself.

"However, for about six months prior to her death I would go round to check on her in the mornings, make breakfast for her and make sure she had meals for the day.

"That morning, I came in through the back door, which was normal, but it was very dark, all of the lights were out which was unusual.

"There was a huge smell of smoke and I thought she had left the oven on.

"I saw that the chair she would always sit on was just a frame.

"I went into her room and it was so dark because of the smoke that I couldn't see, all of the windows were blacked out because of the smoke.

"I reached out and I couldn't see her but I felt her, she was cold then."

The court heard that Ms Ford was a former progress chaser, who helps to collect unpaid electricity bills and had been born in Dudley.

She smoked roughly 10 cigarettes a day and had got up in the middle of the night to smoke the one which led to the fire.

Her son told the court that he had called for an ambulance straight away but was told that by paramedics that she was dead on arrival.

Fire officer Shaun Tomkins said: "Not that it will be of much comfort, but it is likely that she wouldn't have felt much pain, her death was caused due to carbon monoxide poisining and she would have been overcome by the smoke quite quickly.

"From her position being sat on the edge of her bed, it is likely that she had discovered something was happening, had tried to get up to do something but was overcome."

Coroner Zafar Siddique delivered a verdict of accidental death.