Hoarders died in ‘hovel’ that made escape from fire almost impossible

TWO hoarders died in a blaze because the clutter in their home forced firefighters to break through a window to reach them and made escaping “almost impossible”, an inquest heard.

Andrew Mcinnes, 60, and William Cooper, 62, died of smoke inhalation when the house went up in flames as a fire spread from a toaster at 1.15am on June 26 last year.

An inquest heard how nearly every available space was filled with junk at their three-bedroom terraced house in Lowestoft, Suffolk. The back door was also blocked with a freezer and the front was deadlocked.

Dr Dan Sharpstone, the assistant Suffolk coroner, said the house had not been cleaned for years and “could only be described as a hovel” and a “health hazard”.

An investigation by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service found the toaster had been plugged through two overloaded multi-plugs. The coroner said the pair had “a disregard for electrical safety” and the clutter meant that escaping from the fire would have been “almost impossible”.

The inquest also heard how Mr Mcinnes and Mr Cooper had been convicted in 2012 of causing unnecessary suffering to four dogs by keeping them in a cramped and dirty environment.

Mr Mcinnes, who was wheelchair-bound, and his friend Mr Cooper had refused all offers of help.

The inquest at Suffolk Coroner’s Court in Ipswich heard how Mr Cooper was a carer to Mr Mcinnes, even though he was not fit to be.

Social services and other agencies tried to intervene, but could not act as Mr Mcinnes was deemed capable of making his own decisions.

Dr Sharpstone recorded a narrative conclusion at the hearing on Monday, saying the deaths were a consequence of smoke inhalation with “a background of severe self-neglect and hoarding”.