Shropshire Star

Foul play not ruled out over blaze that killed father and five children

A father and his five young children died from deadly fumes after a mystery fire broke out at their farmhouse home, an inquest has heard.

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The farmhouse was so badly damaged the cause of the fire could not be found

Dave Cuthbertson, 68, died in the blaze alongside children Just Raine, 11, Reef Raine, 10, Misty Raine, nine, Patch Raine, six, and Gypsy Grey Raine, four, after flames engulfed their property while they slept.

An inquest into their deaths heard investigators have so far failed to find out what caused the fire due to the devastating damage to the farmhouse at Poityn Farm in Llangammarch Wells, Powys.

Escape

Leaf Raine, Mr Cuthbertson's 13-year-old daughter, managed to escape the blaze on October 29 last year after being woken up by smoke filling her room and hearing her father's shouts for her and her siblings to flee.

She climbed through a skylight window and was joined by siblings Blue, 12, and Farr, 11, who raised the alarm with a neighbour around midnight, but emergency services were unable to rescue her other siblings or father.

David Cuthbertson was aged 68 when he died

The one-day hearing, at Welshpool Town Hall, was told Dyfed-Powys Police are still investigating the cause of the blaze due to the level of damage to the building after it collapsed.

Detective Inspector Adam Ellis said a "number of enquiries" were still to be made and could not rule out the possibility of foul play.

A fire investigator told the inquest copper pipes on a radiator had melted, meaning the temperature inside the farmhouse during the blaze would have exceeded 1,085 degrees.

An aerial view of the farmhouse

Richard Hancock, manager of the fire investigation team Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue, said there were a number of objects found in the ruins of the farmhouse including cigarette lighters, candle holders, and hundreds of metres of electrical wires which had been "daisy-chained".

"Given the degree of destruction in the room of origin and accounts placing the fire in the ground floor lounge, it was very difficult to identify one particular item as being the cause of the fire," he said.

Gas smell

Mr Hancock ruled out the possibility the fire was caused by a gas leak, after one of Mr Cutherbertson's children had suggested that the house smelled out gas in the lead up to the blaze.

Mr Cuthbertson, a retired builder, had 17 children from previous relationships and was living at the property with eight of them following his split from their mother, Sima Khan, who had custody of the children before she suffered a stroke.

Tributes left close to the scene in Llangammarch Wells

Coroner Andrew Barkley recorded a narrative conclusion for the six deaths, saying each had died from inhalation of fire fumes, but there was no clear evidence what started the fire.

Mr Barkley said: "The general consensus is the fire started in the lounge area, known as the red room.

"What we cannot say is why it started in that room or what caused it to start, such was the level of destruction. Many factors have been mentioned.

"The individuals died from the effects of inhalation of fire fumes from a fire at their home address, the cause of which remains unknown."

After the inquest Chief Superintendent Tony Brown, who led the victim identification and recovery, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family and all those affected by this truly tragic and harrowing incident.

"Despite the heart-breaking outcome of the incident, the effective method that all agencies worked together, during the response to the fire and in its aftermath, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of each agency’s staff and volunteers – and I thank them all sincerely."

The family thanked the emergency services and have asked for their privacy.

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