Mum died in fire after dropping lit cig on settee
A MUM died after falling asleep with a lit cigarette which set fire to her sofa.
Natasha Taylor suffered 80 per cent burns in the blaze which gutted the living room of her Blackley home, where she had been living alone.
The 43-year-old was found dead on April 9 last year by ex-boyfriend Robert Cryer, with whom she had a daughter.
Mr Cryer was in regular contact with her and became concerned after he didn’t hear from her for a week.
Describing the moment he found her, Mr Cryer told an inquest in Manchester: “On the Sunday after work I called up at the house. I noticed the front window of the house was black and thought there was something wrong. I tried the door expecting the outside door open and internal door locked. It was all open.
“I walked in and the room was black. I looked around the corridor and discovered Tasha sat there.”
Miss Taylor had difficulties with depression and drinking, and tests showed she had high levels of alcohol in her system which could have rendered her ‘unable to react to the threat of a fire.’
An investigation carried out by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service found that there was an ashtray and two cigarette lighters on the arm of the sofa that Miss Taylor was found sitting on. An empty bottle was found beneath her feet.
The fire service report added: “Considering all the available information it’s the officer’s opinion that the fire started from a carelessly-discarded lit cigarette on the seat of the sofa.”
Miss Taylor’s mother, Marilyn Taylor, told the inquest that while her daughter had a ‘bad time’ in the months before her death, she had ‘been really positive and started doing volunteering.’
Mr Cryer told the inquest he went to her home after becoming concerned for her well-being. “We were ex-partners but were still good friends,” he said. “I would go up and see her at least once a week, every week, after I had seen my daughter. That was generally just to keep her updated because she was out of the loop but was still interested. The last time I saw her was approximately 10 days before I discovered her. She seemed in a good place, she made contact with a couple of friends and seemed to be making plans. I didn’t have concerns about her when I last saw her.
“She seemed better than she had been for quite a while. She had gone out and had coffee which was rare and she was making plans to do things which she hadn’t done for quite a long time before that. I tried contacting Tasha on a couple of occasions. A week passed and I had no contact. I thought something was wrong because we kept in regular contact.”
Recording a narrative conclusion, assistant coroner Angharad Davies said: “It’s quite clear Miss Taylor had a long history of depression, anxiety and alcohol problems and this is a desperately sad inquest because it’s obvious Miss Taylor was much-loved and supported. It was most likely the cause of fire was a discarded or dropped cigarette on a sofa which Miss Taylor was sitting on.
“The amount of alcohol Miss Taylor had consumed could have led to unconsciousness or could prove to be fatal of its own accord.
“It seems to me that Miss Taylor had long-standing alcohol problems and it’s understandable they are very difficult to provide treatment for. Her family tried their best to provide assistance but it was not always easy for them to know what to do. It’s a very, very tragic set of circumstances.”