Nottinghamshire toddler's death was 'tragic accident' in caravan fire after problems with gas boiler

A caravan fire which killed a girl, 2, started from a cupboard where the gas boiler was located, an inquest has heard.

Louisiana Brooke Dolan from Newark in Nottinghamshire died in the fire on August 23, 2021.

Her family had been staying at the Sealands Caravan Park in Ingoldmells in Lincolnshire.

The toddler's three siblings and mum managed to escape the caravan.

A coroner said she could not rule for certain that the boiler, which did not have its gas safety certificate renewed for five months, caused the fatal fire.

"I can't spend the rest of my life not knowing."

Coroner Lindsay Tasker faced Louisiana's mother, Natasha Broadley, as she said: "The evidence just isn't there to establish the cause of the fire.

"I am sorry, for you, I have not been able to give you that answer". 

Miss Broadley replied: "I can't spend the rest of my life not knowing. I won't give up".

Natasha Breoadley was in the shower when she smelled smoke and saw the boiler catch fire.

She had called the owner of the caravan earlier that day to check the boiler after she had concerns over it.

The inquest heard, the owners son came to look at the boiler and used a long lighter to start it because the igniting button on the boiler didn't work.

It was shortly after the visit that Miss Broadley smelt smoke and tried to get her children out of the caravan.

Throughout the inquest, Miss Broadley was tearful and was frustrated the boiler wasn't being explicitly blamed.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service station manager, Karl Foxall, was asked where the fire started from. He replied: "It definitely started in the cupboard but what we can't categorically say is that it was from the boiler."

Detective Inspector Jo Fortune, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "There was no deliberate ignition.

"The gas safety certificate was out of date by five months. The difficulty is we can't get that element of whether there was a fault in the boiler that [the caravan owner] should have known about and got fixed".

The coroner ruled the toddlers cause of death as inhalation of the products of combustion, labelling the incident as a "tragic accident".