Inquest into death of Eliza Bashir in house fire concludes

Eliza Bashir died at her home, on Kingsdale Drive, just off Bolton Road, in Bradford, in the early hours of Sunday, May 5.

The young girl was found dead in her bed after she was unable to escape the fierce fire and smoke, that engulfed the alcove she slept in, the inquest at Bradford Coroners’ Court heard on Tuesday.

Investigations after the fire discovered the remnants of a single tealight and cigarette lighter at the base of Eliza’s bed, as well as two further tealights under the bed.

These items were between a fabric box containing clothing and a bag of clothing.

Assistant Coroner Angela Brocklehurst said: “The most likely cause of fire was accidental ignition due to a naked flame from a tealight candle coming into direct contact with combustible materials, most likely clothing at the base of the bed.”

Fire investigator, Fiona Hopper, said the alcove bed was a mattress on a wooden base and noticed there was “significant fire damage” to this side of the room, compared to “slight damage” on the left-hand side where two single beds were.

She described it as an “intense fire” and said the “flames at the base of the bed would have prevented Eliza escaping”.

The fire occurred at a property on Kingsdale Drive (Image: Telegraph & Argus) The court heard that the smoke would have quickly reached floor level due to the alcove.

Mrs Hopper said there were fire detectors on the ground and first floor, and both were working.

The medical cause of death was deemed to be from carbon monoxide toxicity and inhalation of fire gases.

A report heard in court said Eliza had a “fatal blood level of carboxyhemoglobin” at 71 per cent concentration and soot was found in her airways.

The fire service rushed to the scene at 1.08am and made police aware of a child trapped in an upstairs room of the extended bungalow.

Richard Briggs, a firefighter responding to the blaze, said: “I entered the property through the side door and proceeded to the staircase into thick smoke.”

There were three doors at the top but flames were present at the left, so he went into this room, which was a front-facing bedroom.

Mr Briggs and a colleague extinguished the fire and initially noticed there were two single beds in the room.

The firefighter then discovered an alcove to the right of the room as the smoke cleared and said, “it became clear to me this was where the fire began”.

This is when Mr Briggs made the tragic discovery of Eliza, who was dead in her bed.

She was pronounced dead by the ambulance service at 1.21am.

PC Sofia Sykes arrived at the scene at 1.17am on the Sunday when the fire had been put out.

She took charge of the scene and spoke to Eliza’s mother, Iram Bashir.

The court heard that she was woken up by one of her children and then saw a man, believed to be their neighbour, in the house, informing her there was a fire.

PC Sykes said in a statement read out in court: “She went upstairs and grabbed the youngest children and told the other children to get out of the fire.”

The officer added: “She went back up and could hear Eliza shouting for her but couldn’t get up due to the smoke.”

Eliza shared the room with her two sisters, who managed to escape, and she also had a brother.

A family statement read out in court said: “There are no words to express how much love we have for Eliza and how much love she had in her most caring and kindest heart.

It added: “Now she is no longer with us, there exists the largest void.”

The family said Eliza had an aspiration in life to help others and was always available to her sisters and brother, describing her as the “most loving sibling”.

The statement said: “Eliza had the courage to stand up for others and we have received many words from others about her standing up to bullies.”

She had a “desire for knowledge” and was “wise ahead of her years”, receiving many accolades, including the headteacher award at her school.

Mrs Brocklehurst said: “It is always a tragedy to lose a loved child and it is something none of us would ever wish for any parent.”