Woman’s body was found weeks after fire that claimed her life

A WOMAN died in a house fire which went undiscovered for several weeks.

Leslie Anne Wood, of Victoria Road, Ripley, was found weeks after she had succumbed to smoke caused by a fire in her living room.

The 61-year-old was described as a “good neighbour” by those who lived on her street and was eventually found by police after a concerned neighbour had tried to enter her home. The neighbour had previously seen the downstairs window had turned black, but had thought Ms Wood had got new blackout curtains.

Although the front door was open, entry had to be forced by police as a sofa was blocking the doorway. Upon entering the property, officers found Ms Wood dead in the living room, as well as the walls and ceilings covered in soot. Handprints on the wall led the fire service to conclude that Ms Wood moved around after the fire started and potentially tried to escape before succumbing to the smoke.

Ms Wood’s inquest heard how it was likely she was in the room when the fire started, and did not have time to react.

The cause of the fire was an open fireplace in the living room which, upon investigation, contained a build-up of ash and debris. The front had been pushed forward, likely due to the amount of material in the fireplace, allowing the fire to spread onto combustible items kept nearby.

A failure of the fireplace front and the guard also contributed to the blaze spreading into the living room.

A fire investigation report read to the inquest said that the fire self-extinguished “several weeks” before the discovery was made.

Ms Wood’s cause of death was listed as smoke inhalation within the context of ischemic heart disease and alcohol intoxication. Assistant Coroner Susan Evans concluded that Ms Wood’s death was an accident. The inquest was held at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court yesterday.