VERDICT OF ‘MISADVENTURE’ IN CARRICKMINES TRAGEDY
JURY COMMENDS TEENAGER JOHN KEITH CONNORS FOR HIS BRAVERY IN ENTERING THE BURNING PORTACABIN, RECOMMENDING THAT HE BE NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD
A JURY at the inquest into the deaths of ten family members in the Carrickmines halting site fire tragedy returned a verdict of misadventure yesterday (Tuesday). The jury also commended teenager John Keith Connors for his bravery in entering the burning portacabin and said he should be nominated for a national bravery award.
In her charge to the jury, Dr Myra Cullinane had told them they could return a verdict of accidental death or misadventure in relation to nine of the victims. The same verdicts were also offered in the case of the youngest victim of the blaze, five-month-old Mary Connors. However the jury was told it could also consider a narrative verdict setting out the circumstances of her death.
Dr Cullinane said an accidental death is one the occurs ‘out of the blue’. In the case of misadventure, she described it as an ‘accident with a risk’. She referred to the chip pan, which caused the fatal fire, being found on a cooker hot plate and that the switch for the hot plate was in the ‘on’ position.
She also referred to evidence from State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster about the effects of intoxication. All of the adults had being drinking on the night of the fire and Dr Bolster had said that this would have ‘certainly delayed reaction times’.
The temporary halting site had been extended in the months before the tragedy to accommodate the portacabin belonging to Thomas and Sylvia.
The youngest victim of the Carrickmines halting site fire, five-month-old Mary Connors, was likely to have suffered fatal smoke inhalation injuries when she was first rescued, the inquest heard. State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said young babies were much more vulnerable to the effects of smoke inhalation and that, even if they survived the initial fire, they had much higher mortality rates than older children or adults.
The inquest into the deaths of five adults and five children at the temporary halting site on the Glenamuck Road heard how Mary was rescued by her uncle Jim Connors from her parents’ burning Portacabin in the early hours of October 10, 2015. The baby’s aunt, Katie Connors, said Mary was breathing noisily at this point. Mary was placed on a bed in a second cabin nearby. This cabin also caught fire when the initial blaze spread and she was rescued by firefighters. However, Dr Bolster said, on the balance of probability and given what she had heard, ‘this baby had suffered a significant inhalation injury in the first fire’. Mary suffered extensive burns to her body and soot was found in her windpipe. Her cause of death was given as acute carbon monoxide
All of the victims died from either carbon monoxide poisoning or from the inhalation of smoke and fire gases.
Dr Bolster said victim Tara Gilbert (27), who perished along with her partner Willy Lynch (25) and their daughters Jodie (9) and Kelsey (4), was between 14 and 16 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. She was carrying a baby boy.
The other victims were Thomas Connors (28) and his wife Sylvia (30) and their children Jim (5), Christy (3) and baby Mary. Also killed was Jimmy Lynch (39), a brother of Willy and Sylvia.
The inquest heard the body of little Jim Connors was found half under a charred bed on the right-hand side of the cabin. Close by were the remains of his parents and little brother.
Likewise the remains of Willy, Jodie, Kelsey and Tara were all found together. The remains of Jimmy were found in the kitchen and living area.
Post-mortems showed the adults had been drinking on the night of the fire. Asked by Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane if alcohol may have played a role in the tragedy, Dr Bolster said alcohol consumption would certainly have delayed reaction times. The fire was started by a chip pan and the post-mortem on Thomas found he had recently eaten a meal of chips.
David O’Connor, a certified fire safety engineer, told the inquest last week that the portacabin was a modified security hut with a steel lining that acted ‘like an oven’.
Mr O’Connor said that ‘noxious’ black smoke would have enveloped the home within a matter of minutes.
The jury heard that fire safety requirements of building regulations did not apply to the cabins as these units are considered temporary dwellings and are exempt from requirements.
He said fire safety guidelines would apply if the local authority was carrying out works on halting sites. Otherwise, statutory obligations rest with the owner or occupier of dwellings there, he said.
He said examination had shown the fire had grown in two stages – with an initially ignited ‘local fire’ in ‘unit two’ of the halting site filling the living room with ‘untenably hot smoke’ in a number of minutes.
The entire unit would have become smoke filled soon afterwards and he estimated that this would have taken four minutes.
At some point, the fire would have rapidly increased, either from boiling over or from flaming oil. He said petroleum-based polystyrene insulation in the walls meant that temperatures would have been much higher than that of a normal house fire. ‘It was off the charts,’ he said, describing it as being similar to ‘an articulated truck going on fire’.
Mr O’Connor said he could find no evidence of any type of fire alarm system but agreed with coroner Myra Cullinane that unit two had been ‘completely destroyed’ so he was unable to confirm what was there and unit three was ‘very badly destroyed’ so he could not say for sure if there was a fire alarm.
Since the Carrickmines blaze, a new guide to fire safety in existing traveller accommodation has been drawn up and there are now requirements for a smoke detector, an escape window and other requirements, said Mr O’Connor, adding that this was ‘a good thing that has been done’ arising from the tragedy.