5 days Ago By [email protected] (Emily Dalton)
A Surrey woman who tragically died in a caravan fire in Suffolk while helping her children escape, has prompted a coroner’s warning over fire safety standards. Ruth Pingree, 42, who lived in Thames Ditton , was described by her family as having a “brilliant mind” and “utterly devoted to her children”. But after a summer holiday went wrong, Ruth sadly died after the caravan she was staying in set fire.
Suffolk Coroner Darren Stewart found there is substantial “potential for short cuts and misunderstandings” in fire safety regulation for businesses providing accommodation. In a Prevention of Future Death report published April 8, he said: “There is a lack of clear standards concerning what fire safety measures are required, how to assess what is to be applied, how to achieve that standard, and the assurance and enforcement mechanisms beyond this.” Ruth and her husband and two children were staying at the Happy Days Retro Vacation caravan site in Saxmundham in July 2022.
The couple were staying at the site with a group of friends. On July 23, the couple had gone to bed around 10.30pm with the rest of the group retiring by 11.
30pm. In the early hours of the morning on July 24, the caravan caught fire from either an ember blowing from a nearby fire pit or a discarded cigarette/match. A smouldering fire developed over time outside the caravan and later engulfed the holiday home.
Despite being fitted with a smoke detector, the alarm was not activated and did not sound. Instead, Mr Pingree’s son woke him up and alerted the family to the flames at the bathroom-end of the caravan where the children had been sleeping. The fire developed over time and caught the outside of the caravan, heating the aluminium cladding and warping the only door, jamming it shut.
Mr Pingree tried to open the door but could not. The fire was fully engaging the bathroom end of the caravan at this point and the entire space had quickly become full of acrid dark smoke. Forcing open the window above the kitchen sink with his body, Mr.
Pingree climbed outside followed by his two children. Mrs. Pingree had stayed to help her children flee the burning caravan.
Unfortunately Mrs. Pingree was not able to escape and shortly after the second child broke free, the caravan became engulfed in fire and smoke. Desperate efforts to quench the fire failed and it was not until the Fire Service arrived at 4:45am that the fire was finally extinguished.
By this point Mrs. Pingree had sadly perished in the fire. The coroner found that had the fire alarm worked it is likely it would have alerted the family early.
But they added: “It is not possible however to say if this would have meant Mrs. Pingree would have escaped the caravan before being overcome by the fire fumes.” The inquest heard evidence concerning the operation of the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 (FSO) of which there is a general test of suitable measures.
But it does not require that the proprietors: keep any written records; set a specific interval of maintenance inspections; or provide any safety notices in caravans showing escape routes or actions in case of emergency. The coroner found there is not any set guidance or format to conduct a risk assessment under the FSO for proprietors. The Pingree family did not receive a safety briefing when they arrived, or when they were introduced to the caravan.
A fire blanket was affixed to a wall near the stove in the kitchen area and a small fire extinguisher was also located in the kitchen area. Happy Days Retro Vacation closed after the fatal fire and the site’s owners have declined to comment. The couple now run an escape room in Suffolk.
The prevention of future death report has been sent to the Deputy Prime Minister & Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Secretary of State for the Home Department. Got a story you want to share? Email me at emily.dalton@reachplc.
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