Aerosol cans exploded in fatal Ballyvary house fire

Aerosol cans exploded in fatal Ballyvary house fire


Woman’s brave attempts to save mother-in-law’s life ended in tragedy

Anton McNulty

AN investigation into the cause of a fatal housefire in Ballyvary found that two aerosol cans exploded when they were being burned in an open fire.
Eileen McDonnell (78) died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning when fire broke out in her home in Laughravary, Ballyvary, on March 7 last. Despite their best efforts, her son, Padraig, and his wife, Jacinta, were unable to rescue Mrs McDonnell from the bedroom in the house where the fire started, and which was engulfed in ‘thick smoke’.
The inquest into Mrs McDonnell’s death heard that she had likely been burning rubbish in an open fire place in a bedroom in her home. The fire was investigated by Garda Fergus Moloney of the Crime Scene Unit who found that the most prolonged burning had occurred in an area close to the fireplace.
“Burning indicated a progression from the fire place. A large fire load consisting of paper, aerosols and other flammable materials on and around the shelf unit and next to the fire place fuelled the fire’s progression towards the door.
“I excavated the area within the fire place and recovered a number of aerosol cans. Two of these cans showed evidence of having exploded. A fireguard was present to the right of the fireplace and only partially covered the hearth. Based on the physical evidence at the scene it is my opinion that a single seat of fire had progressed from the open fireplace. Apart from the aerosol cans present I found no evidence to suggest the presence of accelerants,” Garda Moloney’s report read.

Valiant efforts
Jacinta McDonnell told the inquest that she and Padraig McDonnell had lived with Padraig’s mother for a time before moving into a new home beside her house in 2009. Padriag’s old room had become a storage room. She said that her mother-in-law often burnt rubbish in that room.
Jacinta said that on the day of the fire, she was collecting her children from school when her husband told her he had received a message from an alarm-response company to say the alarm was going off in her home.
When she arrived at her mother-in-law’s house she saw smoke coming from the chimney. She  went into the house and called out to Mrs McDonnell, who said ‘I’m in here’, referring to Padraig’s room.
She said she could only open the door a small bit and that something was stopping it from opening. The room was pitch black, she said. She did a sweep with her hand from the door and caught her mother-in-law’s hand.
“I could not see her. I pulled her, but next thing she let go. It was like she fell back but I’m not sure. I tried to catch her again asking her, ‘where are you?’ She didn’t catch my hand this time,” she said.
Jacinta explained she tried to kick the door but could not break it and tried to ring 999 from the house but was unable. She ran to her house to call 999 but when she returned to the house, the smoke was coming out the door. She rang her husband who told her to try and break the window.
Padraig McDonnell, who was working as a postman in Castlebar, explained that when he got home he saw his wife running from the house with her face all black. He tried to break a window but could not and when he did enter the house he was ‘met with a wall of black smoke’.
“I looked around but I couldn’t find my mother there. I was constantly shouting for my mother but I did not get anything back,” he said.
Dr Fadel Bennani, Consultant Pathologist explained that the levels of carbon monoxide had reached a lethal level and that Eileen McDonnell’s death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Coroner for south Mayo, John O’Dwyer noted that Jacinta and Padraig were disturbed at not being able to save Mrs McDonnell. He assured them that they did all they could for her and had even put own their lives at risk in trying to save her.
He recorded a verdict of accidental death and extended sympathy to the McDonnell family.