Shropshire house fire fatalities reach record high

The number of people who have died in house fires in Shropshire this year is the highest since records began.

The death of a woman – named locally as 55-year-old Barbara Owusu – following a blaze at The Glebelands in Donnington, Telford, on Wednesday night took the number of deaths from fires in the county to six since April.

By comparison there have only been eight deaths from fires in the county in the five years before the latest figures.

Fire chiefs say they are the worst for 13 years – and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service fire prevention officer John Das Gupta made an impassioned plea outside the home of the latest victim for people to review fire safety in their home.

He said: "Fire discriminates against the most vulnerable in society. People, who with disabilities or illnesses, or have reached an old age are vulnerable.

"We are asking everyone to review the fire safety arrangements in their homes or of people's homes they know who may be at risk.

"Things like checking if fire alarms are working can save lives. If people are concerned or are not sure what to do then they can always call us for more information."

Fire chiefs say their yearly figures on fatalities run from April to March.

They show in 2006, 2007 and 2008 there was a combined total of seven deaths in the county from house fires.

In 2009, there were no recorded deaths from property blazes and in 2010 there was only one.

Mr Das Gupta said he was worried as temperatures tumbled and heating systems were turned on more fires, and fatalities, could occur.

In April, Andrew Lineton, 33, and his six-year-old daughter Kay-Leigh Cooke died in a house fire on Briarwood, Brookside.

An 80-year-old woman also lost her life in April when her static caravan caught fire at Beaconsfield Caravan Park, Upper Battlefield, Shrewsbury.

In May, 90-year-old widow Norma Foster died from smoke inhalation at a remote cottage near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

And last month Ann Morgan and her dog Bramble were killed after flames engulfed her home in Stanton Drive, Ludlow.

By Peter Finch