Death blaze started by brand new dress

By [fsalter]

A STUDENT died in a kitchen fire when the dress she bought that day was ignited on the cooker, an inquest heard.

Grace Applegate, 22, of Gospelgate, Louth, died when she leaned on the cooker in her new nylon-fabric dress at around 3.30pm on March 12.

A post mortem examination carried out by Home Office pathologist Guy Rutty revealed she died from the inhalation of hot gases, which caused her to have a heart attack.

The tragic death had been contributed to by alcohol intoxication, he concluded.

Louth district coroner Stuart Fisher recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest at Louth town hall yesterday.

Lincolnshire Fire Service station manager Neil Bunch said a smoke detector in the home did not activate because the batteries had been removed the week prior to the tragedy by Grace's father Stuart Applegate.

He said a fault with the cooker and deliberate ignition had been ruled out.

Mr Bunch said: "She had been drinking heavily. I believe she leaned up against the cooker and the dress caught fire.

"The fire flashed up quickly and she will have inhaled hot gases."

She had no chance to put out the fire and collapsed on the kitchen floor.

Although the smoke from the fire filled the kitchen, it caused minimal damage and had not spread to the rest of the home.

Mr Bunch said householders often take out smoke detector batteries because they bleep when they run down and people forget to replace them.

Grace's mother Francis Applegate said her daughter was at home with her father Stuart, who was sitting in a front room of the house.

He walked through the house to the kitchen in order to get to the garage at the rear of the property.

Unable to see in the smoke-filled kitchen, he opened a rear kitchen door.

He discovered his daughter collapsed on the floor and poured water on her, with the help of a neighbour.

Mrs Applegate said her daughter had been shopping for clothes earlier in the day at Feathers boutique in Louth.

She said her daughter had an alcohol problem, with a background of mental health difficulties.

Summing up, Mr Fisher said: "She had a troubled history from a health point of view and alcohol was a problem."

Addressing the student's family, he said: "My heart goes out to you all and I say that as a parent."