News Beat
Schoolgirl, 13, dies on top bunk after ‘bed was set on fire with a lighter’ and home gutted in blaze
A 13-year-old school girl tragically died on the top of her bunk bed after it was “set on fire with a lighter”, an inquest heard.
Firefighters arrived to the house on Kingsway, Prescot, and searched for Layla Allen – the only family member still inside the blazing house.
The teenager was found lying on the top bunk of a bunk bed in her room and pronounced dead at the scene.
At Layla’s inquest today, coroner Anita Bhardwaj said: “Police were unable to interview the other children present in the house, and what police have said in effect is that they had been prevented from gathering further evidence, and without statements from all parties present they cannot rule out anything.
“It’s correct to say that they couldn’t interview the other children because of the damage that it would cause to them.
“That the family have indicated that interviews would cause too much harm to the children and they would have to relive the incident.
“This was supported by the children’s social care, and this prevented evidence being gathered,” reports the Liverpool Echo.
Layla’s parents, Shaun Allen and Michelle McGurry, and her five siblings had managed to escape the burning house.
But the Year 8 student of St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston was still trapped inside and was found dead by firefighters on her bunk bed.
Merseyside Police discovered no evidence that a third party from outside of the house had been involved.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service investigation officer Ruth Baller-Wilson, who led the investigation into the fire, said: “It’s difficult to determine the exact sequence of events, however the burn pattern suggests this fire ignited on the bunk bed.
“The fire ignited on the top bunk and developed within the bedding before it spread to the mattress, supported by the oxygen from an open window by the bed.”
She explained at the inquest that they had eliminated all potential sources of the fire “with the exception of a naked flame” like a lighter.
Two disposable lighters were found inside of the proper, which Layla’s parents claimed were not theirs.
Baller-Wilson continued by saying since Layla was found lying on her back in bed, it was likely she was asleep when the fire started,
She added: “Layla was a fit, healthy 13-year-old; she wasn’t trapped and there was no reason why she wouldn’t have at least been able to get down from the bunk, even if it was on fire.
“Therefore I believe it’s more likely she was asleep at the time.
“If Layla did start the fire herself, there would be no reason why she wouldn’t escape the room.
“It’s possible that her clothes may have ignited, but I still would have expected her to get herself down from the bunk and attempt self-rescue.”
A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was the “effects of fire” from the levels of carbon monoxide in her lungs.
The investigation into the 13-year-old’s death was unable to determine the cause of the fire, and concluded “more likely than not that it was a live flame, such as a lighter.”
However, Baller-Wilson stated that the fire was “most likely” started by one of the children “with a lighter”.
The coroner delivered her open conclusion by stating: “I don’t feel I have sufficient evidence to make findings of fact to reach any conclusion other than an open conclusion.
“There are too may unanswered questions here. We don’t know what actually happened. We don’t know who started the actual fire.”
Bhardwaj then directly spoke to Layla’s parents expressing her concern that it had been the second fire at the family’s home in a year.
“This is the second fire in similar circumstances within a very, very short period of time involving lighters and this time the sad consequence was Layla’s death”, she added.
