Mother-of-four, 44, died after jumping out of a window to escape huge fire which tore through her home when battery from an e-scooter exploded, inquest hears
- Rebecca Downes, 44, died after trying to escape blaze caused by an e-scooter
- One of her daughters and partner Patrick Ramsey were injured in the fire
A mother-of-four died after jumping from the third floor of her home following a fire sparked by an e-scooter battery.
Rebecca Downes jumped out the window, when her house in Blackpool, Lancashire was engulfed in flames, an inquest heard.
Downes, 44, died at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, after suffering several injuries from the fall.
One of her daughters and partner, Patrick Ramsey, in his 50s, also sustained injuries in the blaze.
The fire broke out on July 6 of last year at 12.40am and spread across a bedroom in minutes, after a battery exploded on an e-scooter charging by the door.
Rebecca Downes died after jumping from her home to escape a fire sparked by an e-scooter battery
Flames engulfed the third floor of the house on Hill Street in Blackpool
Mr Ramsey told Blackpool Coroner’s Court that the battery ignited and sent bright sparks like a ‘roman candle’.
‘The battery was by the door and we couldn’t get out. The battery kept exploding and I could see bright flashing and bits of battery were hitting me. It was like a Roman candle.’, he said in a witness statement.
Emergency workers moved Ms Downes to other side of the road to treat her, while debris fell and thick smoke belched from home on Hill Street.
Despite the best efforts of the North West Ambulance Service and an off duty paramedic living on the same street who started CPR, Ms Downes was pronounced dead at 1.42am.
Mr Ramsey, who ran a bike repair shop and recently started trading electric bikes, said there appeared to be a problem with the battery after collecting it from a friend the weekend before the tragedy, Lancs Live reported.
Callum, Ms Downes’s son carried his sister to safety and then tried to rescue his parents only to not reach the third floor bedroom due to heat and smoke.
His actions were commended by Coroner Andrew Cousins, who said they spoke ‘great volumes’ about his character.
He said that he plugged in the bike in his bedroom after his wife didn’t want to leave it charging overnight in the kitchen.
The blaze was confirmed by the fire service to be result of lithium battery failure
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the lithium battery failure was the cause of the blaze.
Michael Anglan, an incident intelligence officer, explained that battery fires spread much faster than conventional kitchen fires, with their rapid flammability making escape much harder.
A man was arrested by Lancashire Police on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter relating to the battery and its source, but no further action was taken.
Following a second blaze in Blackpool caused by a battery from the same source, a public safety meeting took place.
Ms Downes’s death was listed as accidental and the cause of multiple injuries.
Her family paid tribute to her generosity and help for the homeless, saying ‘love, care and kindness’ were the most important gift in life for her.
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