Betty Grace Payne · Prevention of Future Deaths report

On 22nd July 2013 I opened an inquest into the death of Betty Grace Payne then aged 84. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 26ᵗʰ September 2013. The determination of the inquest was one of accidental death The medical cause of death was:
1(a) heat injury
1(b) house fire
2 Ischaemic heart disease.

(1) Miss Betty Grace Payne was 84 years of age. She never married and had no children.
(2) She lived alone at ████████ Munro Court Pembroke Dock.
(3) She was known to smoke and drink heavily and neglected herself.
(4) There were past concerns that she had refused personal care, had set her hair alight and drank heavily. Cigarette burns to her clothing had been observed previously.
(5) On the 16ᵗʰ July 2013 a call was made to the emergency services from the property. That call is believed to have been made by the deceased. There was no conversation but a smoke detector could be heard in the background. The emergency services duly attended to find that the property was ablaze.
(6) The body of the deceased was recovered from within.

(1) That the deceased was elderly and vulnerable.
(2) The improved sharing of information about vulnerable people with the Fire Service could identify those at risk.
(3) It is acknowledged that the sharing of information of this kind may for legal reasons not always be possible.
(4) Where this information cannot be disclosed then Local Authority staff could receive training from the Fire Service. This will enable Local Authority staff to undertake Home Fire Safety Checks and implement measures to reduce the risk of fire. This training is available from the Fire Service.