A 60-year-old man living in support housing in Dublin died from smoke inhalation when a smoke alarm and faulty heat detector failed to activate, an inquest has heard.
John McKenzie, living at Stanhope Green, Dublin 7, a residence for people who were previously homeless run by Focus Ireland, was discovered dead in his bedsit on March 4th. A chip pan had caught fire, causing a fire in the apartment, which eventually extinguished itself.
Mr McKenzie had tried to escape the fire by climbing out the window and then trying to exit through the front door before he was overcome by smoke.
The manager of the facility told Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday that the battery had been removed from the fire alarm in Mr McKenzie's bedsit and the heat detector was faulty.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell recorded a verdict of accidental death and recommended that management of the residence review their fire alarm system.
Mr McKenzie was discovered by a member of staff who was leading two engineers up to his bedsit because other residents had complained of a smell of smoke. Garda Tom Canavan told the inquest that Mr McKenzie had tried to escape through his bedroom window in a "panic-stricken state" and then tried to exit through the front door.
"He made his way to the door and attempted to leave. There were hand marks on the door . . . and there appeared to be black dried tear marks on his face," he told the court.
Mr McKenzie had a moderate level of alcohol in his system at the time of death, a postmortem found. He had superficial facial burns and his body was covered in soot, according to State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy's autopsy.
The inquest heard that the 84 bedsits at the facility all have heavy fire doors from which little smoke can escape. But had the smoke alarm and heat detector been working in Mr McKenzie's bedsit, a fire alarm would have activated downstairs, manager Jonathon Meehan told the court.
He added that since Mr McKenzie's death, management had made plans to "upgrade" the fire alarm system and would carry out a further review in line with Dr Farrell's recommendation.