In a devastating incident, a 13-year-old schoolgirl has tragically lost her life in a fire that engulfed her family home in Prescot, Merseyside. Layla Allen was declared dead at the scene of the blaze, which occurred late on April 2 last year.
According to the inquest hearing, it appeared that Layla was likely asleep at the time of the fire, as she made no attempt to escape the flames. Investigators have been unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the disaster, but believe a lighter was likely used to set Layla’s bedding alight.
Shockingly, this was the second suspicious fire to hit the family home in less than a year. Six months prior, another “member of the family” had set fire to one of the beds inside the house using a lighter. The coroner, Anita Bhardwaj, recorded an open verdict, stating that the police “cannot rule anything out” as the parents refused to allow their other children to be interviewed about the incident.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service investigator Ruth Baller-Wilson told the inquest that the burn patterns suggested the fire had originated on the bunk bed, with the flames spreading to the mattress, fuelled by the oxygen from an open window. She noted that Layla was a “fit, healthy 13-year-old” and should have been able to escape the room, leading her to believe that the young girl was likely asleep at the time.
The investigation was unable to determine a definitive cause for the fire, but it was deemed “more likely than not that it was a live flame, such as a lighter.” The coroner expressed concern over the fact that there had been two fires in such a short period of time, and urged the family to accept the fire service’s offer of assistance in educating them and their children on fire safety.
This tragic incident has left the community in Prescot devastated, and has raised important questions about the circumstances surrounding the two fires that have now claimed the life of a young, promising individual.