91-year-old widow died of smoke inhalation in fire

A 91-YEAR-OLD widow died of smoke inhalation after a small fire broke out in her living room, an inquest heard yesterday.

Cork Coroner’s Court was told that a piece of fabric, perhaps a tea-towel, which had been draped over a real leather couch came in contact with a two-bar electric heater that Bridget O’Donoughue used to heat the living room of her two-storey, three bedroom terraced house, Sunnynook, in Blackrock village, Cork.

The fabric caught fire and spread the blaze onto the couch. Fire retardant (or resistant) material in the couch prevented the blaze from taking hold and flame damage was confined to a corner of the living room.