A woman tragically died in a house fire shortly after her 100th birthday. Despite activating her alarm, help was delayed due to a technical error.
An ambulance was called, but a technical error meant her daughter, Margaret, wasn’t notified. Helen was found by her daughter after Margaret visited for their usual Saturday lunch. She was shocked to see smoke when she opened the door.
Margaret asked a neighbor to call the fire brigade. Firefighters arrived quickly, but Helen couldn’t be revived. She had been a vibrant woman, enjoying her birthday celebration just a month earlier.
Helen had lived in Brixham since the ’80s and volunteered with a local charity for 25 years. She had a lifeline alarm for 20 years, which had been managed by Nottingham Rehabilitation Service.
Margaret shared that her mother had activated the alarm a few times before, usually for falls. She felt that if she had been contacted right away, the outcome might have been different.
The last person to see Helen was a carer who visited that morning. She described Helen as bright and happy. A post-mortem confirmed Helen died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to the fire.
The fire investigation revealed it started in her bedroom, likely from an electrical fault. Helen tried to escape but succumbed to smoke before reaching the door.
Helen had health issues and was housebound since a hip fracture in 2021. The monitoring service confirmed they received her alarm but couldn’t reach her due to a high call volume from a storm.
An internal investigation found her next of kin details were missing due to a technical problem. The coroner adjourned the inquest to gather more evidence and ensure future safety. The hearing will continue later.
