Great-gran died in house fire when wiring behind cooker overheated – Wales Online

A bed-bound great-grandmother died in a house fire while her family were attending a Christmas nativity play, an inquest has heard.

Alma Parsons, 75, of Cardiff, was killed in the fire at her daughter Lisa Scourfield's home in Aberporth Road, Gabalfa, on December 18 last year.

Emergency services were called to the property at around 3pm by a neighbour who saw dark smoke pouring from a letterbox and Mrs Parsons was removed from her bedroom by members of the fire brigade.

Despite the best efforts of firefighters and paramedics, who performed CPR on Mrs Parsons, she was declared dead at the scene.

Mrs Scourfield and her sister Catherine Parsons returned from Highfields Church in Monthermer Road, after being notified by a neighbour, to discover the house covered in smoke and the fire brigade outside the property.

They were taken to the University Hospital of Wales to await the arrival of their mother but were later told she had died.

An inquest hearing at Pontypridd Coroners' Court on Thursday heard Mrs Parsons moved in with Mrs Scourfield and her family following the death of her husband Terrance.

In a statement read out by coroner Rachel Knight, Catherine Parsons said her mother had "given up the will to live" and spent most of her time in bed sleeping.

In the days before her death Mrs Parsons had attended her GP and was diagnosed with a chest infection.

Catherine Parsons said Mrs Scourfield, her brother-in-law Marc Scourfield, and their family were watching her daughter perform in a nativity play on December 18 and last saw her mother sleeping before leaving the house.

In another statement Mrs Scourfield described her mother as "well-educated" and "prim and proper".

She said Mrs Parsons had come to live with her after struggling to manage living on her own following the death of her husband and said her mother would often fall over which made her reluctant to leave her bed.

After attending the nativity play Mrs Scourfield said she was called by a neighbour who said smoke was coming from her home. She said she rushed back to the house and the fire service were already at the scene.

The fire was first discovered by neighbour Colin Russell who saw smoke coming from the house as he walked with his mother and son.

In his statement Mr Russell said: "I saw smoke coming from an upper-storey window and there was dark smoke coming from the letterbox.

"I dialled 999 and saw flames so I told my mother to get away from the house. My father emerged from his house and said he saw the fire brigade bringing a body out the back of the house."

In his statement Mr Scourfield said he had also attended the nativity play and arrived back to Aberporth Road after dropping a family friend home.

He said he saw fire engines outside his home as he pulled up and he approached a fire officer to find out what was going on.

Mr Scourfield said: "I could see a number of firefighters giving CPR to my mother-in-law. I thought the worst and thought she wouldn't make it.

"My wife and sister-in-law arrived and they were standing in the street, hysterical, and asking about their mother. Neighbours were attempting to console them.

"Not long after my wife and sister-in-law left to attend hospital an officer at the scene told me after a valiant effort they were unable to save Alma. The whole family were left in shock."

Footage from the scene of the incident:

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A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Parsons' cause of death was ischemic heart disease due to coronary artery atherosclerosis in a woman with an elevated concentration of carboxyhemoglobin.

A fire investigation report written by Stuart Townsend from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service concluded the fire was caused accidentally after electrical wiring behind the cooker overheated causing the cupboard it was housed in to heat up and smoulder before bursting into flames.

Before delivering her conclusion coroner Ms Knight said: "I express my condolences to Mrs Parsons' family and friends. Her death must have come as a great shock and I am sure she is greatly missed."

A narrative conclusion was made by the coroner, stating: "Alma Parsons died as a result of ischemic heart disease in conjunction with coronary artery atherosclerosis, caused by an accidental fire at her home."

Following the inquest a family spokeswoman said: "The family are still devastated after Alma's death but they were helped so much by the love and support of the local community who came out to help them in the days after the tragedy. They just wanted to let people know how grateful they are for that support at such a difficult time."

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Great-gran died in house fire when wiring behind cooker overheated - Wales Online