A grandmother died in a blaze which ripped through her home after candles set alight a Glade air freshener.
Kathleen Holme, 67, was killed at the terraced property she shared with her son in Kendal, Cumbria on Mother’s Day this year.
The deadly blaze started after the air freshener shot a spray of perfume on to candles burning on her bedside table, causing a jet of fire which ignited a pile of clothes on the floor.
Her 38-year-old son Peter Holme, who has learning difficulties, was arrested on suspicion of murder after the accident but later released.
Kathleen Holme, pictured with her daughter Tamara (right), died in the fire in March
A coroner has now warned air freshener manufacturers, including Glade, to highlight the dangers of using automatic sprays near naked flames.
An inquest into her death today heard five or six canisters of freshener were found in the bedroom of Ms Holme’s property alongside a tray of candles.
Fire chief Roger Exley told the inquest he and his officers had been shocked when they tested the effect of placing the freshener alongside candles when investigating the cause of the blaze.
‘They produced significant flames which were capable of igniting any flammable material, like discarded clothing, nearby,’ said Mr Exley, delivery manager of Cumbria Fire Brigade.
An automatic air freshener manufactured by Glade, similar to the one which most likely played a part in the house fire
Mr Exley believed the air fresheners and candles were the most likely cause of the fire which ripped through the property in the early hours of March 26.
The canisters are powered by battery and have a setting to spray air freshener automatically at regular intervals.
There is a warning on the boxes of air fresheners but not on the canisters themselves, the inquest heard.
The inquest heard how Peter and his mother had been drinking at a local pub on the night of the tragedy.
Mrs Homle’s 38-year-old son Peter Holme, who has learning difficulties, was arrested on suspicion of murder after the accident but later released
Mrs Holme suffered from an over-active thyroid, high blood pressure, liver disease and anaemia.
Peter has brain injuries, learning difficulties and epilepsy after contracting tuberculosis as a teenager.
Mrs Holme’s daughter Tamara Knowles told the inquest her mother and brother were ‘mutual carers’.
She added: ‘They were very close. They had their rows, but I don’t believe my brother would harm my mother in any way.
‘My mother was obsessed with candles. She had them all over the house and in her bedroom on a tray on a bedside table.
‘She had the air fresheners to cover the smell of two cats which lived in an airing cupboard in the bedroom.
‘I was not aware of the risks of using the two together. I don’t think many people realise.’
She said her mother, a retired cleaner, had let the house become untidy following the death of her father Peter last year, with clothes strewn on the floor.
The inquest was told that when the fire alarm went off Mrs Holme’s son went to the Bridge Hotel Kendal opposite their house, to raise the alarm.
Statements were read from Jordan Mason, a customer at the nearby pub, and manager Andrew Rafferty, who tried to rescue Mrs Holme.
Mr Mason wrapped himself in a duvet, grabbed a extinguisher and forced his way up the smoke-filled stairs to where Mrs Holme was lying badly burned on a first floor landing.
Police and emergency services at the scene of the fire in March this year
Mr Rafferty also tried to save Mrs Holmes but the smoke and heat were too intense. Both men’s actions were praised by Coroner Robert Chapman.
Mrs Holme was eventually rescued by firefighters but she stopped breathing and had a cardiac arrest in an ambulance. She was pronounced dead at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
Mr Chapman said he would be writing formal letters to manufacturers including Glade to highlight the dangers of keeping the automatic sprays near candles.
He concluded Mrs Holme’s death was accidental and said the cause of her death was burns and smoke inhalation.
Mrs Holme’s son Peter is now under the care of social services.