Fatal Bucknell house blaze not caused by sparking pole
A house fire that killed a 70-year-old woman in a Shropshire village was not caused by a power cables seen sparking outside, investigators have concluded.
An inquest into the death of Diana Dasey, who was killed when an early morning fire gutted her home at Chestnut Meadow, Bucknell, on February 24, has concluded a verdict of accidental death.
Mrs Dasey, a retired factory worker born in Kent, shared the house in the village near Clun with husband Phillip, 80, who attended the inquest with Patrick James, one of Mrs Dasey's children from a previous marriage to the late Peter James.
Mr Dasey managed to get out of the property but could not save his wife, who was wheelchair bound.
The inquest at Shirehall in Shrewsbury heard the seat of the fire was a cupboard containing the house's electricity supply.
Neighbours saw a cable-carrying pole to the rear of the house sparking beforehand and as it was the day after Storm Doris had brought power cables down elsewhere, there was speculation there may have been a link.
But Andrew Seager, an investigator for the Health and Safety Executive, said it was unlikely the fire had begun outside as it would have affected neighbouring houses in a similar way.
It was more likely the fire in the house had caused the cable outside to heat up, he said.
Heath Westerman, deputy coroner for Shropshire, said a post mortem revealed Mrs Dasey died of a combination of carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation and the fire, having been unable to get out.
