A Carlisle mum died after saving the lives of her two young children from a house fire which began accidentally, an inquest has heard.
Kayleigh Rhianne Lennox, 27, made the first of several 999 calls just after 11.20pm on April 28 while in an upstairs bedroom with her youngsters, aged four and three.
Retail worker Kayleigh reported a fire at her two-storey semi-detached Cant Crescent home in Upperby was coming up the stairs, that she couldn’t get out and was struggling to breathe. Working smoke alarms in the property were sounding but nothing further was heard after five minutes.
Firefighters from across Carlisle and the surrounding area attended, some wearing breathing apparatus as they entered the property to make a search.
They found Kayleigh unconscious in the bedroom with extensive burns.
She was removed from the property through a window, lowered to the ground on a ladder and transported to the regional burns unit, at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.
She received intensive care support and underwent surgery for her injuries. However, her condition deteriorated and she tragically died on the night of 1st May from multi-organ failure, burns to 30 per cent of her body and inhalation injury.
Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard this morning how brave members of the public initially used children’s scooters to smash through locked front and back doors, in a desperate bid to assist.
Firefighters learned the two children had been evacuated from the blazing building prior to their arrival.
Assistant Cumbria coroner Margaret Taylor said: “Kayleigh managed to drop her two children from the upstairs window. She then collapsed.”
A Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service incident investigator concluded that the blaze originated in the downstairs living room, behind a sofa. It spread upstairs as doors were opened and windows failed due to intense heat, allowing oxygen to enter the property.
There was significant fire damage to a double plug socket in the living room. An appliance plugged into the right hand side of the socket was likely to have been the cause of the fire, the probe found.
Ms Taylor concluded: “It is not possible now to confirm the identity of the appliance responsible for the fire. It is very important to note that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the commencement of the fire.
“Tragically this fire has caused the death of a young mother of two; and due to her courage and very decisive action Kayleigh has managed to ensure that her two children survived this terrible event.
“My final conclusion is that this was an accidental death — a tragedy for her family.”
The inquest heard that Kayleigh had studied childcare at Carlisle College after leaving school, and later worked in the city for supermarket chain Morrisons.
