A four-year-old boy died in a house fire that started after a floor lamp in his bedroom set a pile of clothes alight.
An inquest heard of the dramatic and brave efforts to save Jac Evan Davies and his siblings after a fire tore through his family home in Lon Tan Yr Allt in Pontardawe, Wales, in the early hours of July 27 last year.
Assistant Coroner Aled Grufydd heard how the four year-old was asleep in a bunkbed with his sister Kelsey, six, with his mother Jenny Davies also asleep in the room with his 11-month-old brother Andrew on the night of the blaze.
Miss Davies, 29, woke up in the middle of the night as she felt sick and then proceeded to find something new to wear which resulted in a large amount of clothes falling onto the floor.
An inquest heard of the dramatic and brave efforts to save Jac Evan Davies and his siblings after a fire tore through his family home in Lon Tan Yr Allt in Alltwen, Pontardawe
The inquest heard how Miss Davies fell asleep on the sofa downstairs and was woken by the sound of her three year-old son Riley, who was in a separate room to the other children, crying.
Her daughter Kelsey ran upstairs and then proceeded to scream ‘fire, fire’ after seeing a toy box on fire, resulting in Miss Davies attempting to douse the flames with some water before returning with a wet flannel which had no effect due to the thick nature of the smoke.
Miss Davies went for help and Jac’s aunt Nicola phoned the emergency services before rushing into the house and rescuing Andrew,
The coroner heard how many neighbours had shown no regard for their own safety by bravely attempting to rescue the other children.
Firefighters Brian Bowen and Richard Greenwood, who went to the house, said the level of smoke upstairs was so severe their thermal imaging cameras blacked out.
Both had to crawl on their knees due to the extreme nature of the smoke and eventually saved three year-old Riley from his cot.
However, Jac’s room contained a large amount of clutter on the floor, including a cot that was being used as a safety gate, and by the time they arrived in his room he had already died.
Miss Davies was later arrested on suspicion of child neglect and released on police bail. But South Wales Police said she had since been released from bail without charge.
Fire and police investigators at the house in Alltwen near Pontardawe, Neath where a four year old boy lost his life
The inquest in Swansea on Monday heard that the most likely cause of the fire was a lamp on the floor setting fire to clothes.
Mr Grufydd returned a narrative conclusion saying Jac’s death was caused by smoke inhalation caused by a house fire.
He said: ‘I am ruling out accidental death in this instance and I am returning a narrative verdict.
‘I would like to commend the efforts of the fire services as without them Miss Davies would have lost another child.
‘Also, it is worth commending the actions of the neighbours who had no regard for their own safety as they tried their best to save the family.’
The inquest in Swansea on Monday heard that the most likely cause of the fire was a lamp on the floor setting fire to clothes
Despite absolving the landlord of the property of any blame, he also recommended that the Welsh Government reassess landlords’ requirements for smoke alarms.
As it stands every landlord must have at least one smoke alarm in every storey of a building that they own and must check that these are working when a new tenant moves in.
Mr Grufydd said he believed that the Welsh Government should tighten up on requirements.
He added: ‘This is not a criticism of the landlord, however there is a risk that the consequences resulting from this case could cause other deaths if there aren’t stricter guidelines for landlords with smoke alarms.’