Coroner highlights fire safety at inquest into Omagh man’s death

A CORONER presiding over the inquest into the death of an Omagh man in a house fire last year has urged people in the community to ensure that they take the vital safety precautions needed to prevent further tragedies.

Andrew Ian Halliday (52), from Edinburgh Park, was found to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation on January 18, 2023.

An inquest into the death, which caused much sadness within the local community, took place at the Coroner’s Court, sitting in Banbridge, on Thursday.

The Coroner found that, some time late on January 17 or in the early hours of January 18, an open fire caused the sofa in the living room of the property to catch fire.

She added that Mr Halliday had been alive when the fire started, but smoke filled the room very quickly and ‘most likely’ became confused as a result of the effects of the fumes.

She concluded that significant mobility issues would have prevented Mr Halliday from escaping the fire, which the Coroner was told would have burned for a number of hours.

CHECKS

Pleading for people to become more aware of the need for safety around fires, the Coroner said information and fire safety checks in the home were readily available.

“During the course of this inquest it has become apparent to me that the family would not want any other family to go through what they have gone through,” she said.

The Coroner advised members of the public to avail of a home fire safety check, which she decribed as a ‘free and very worthwhile service’.

“Hopefully, this would prevent a number of future deaths in relation to home fires by in advance highlighting the various risks and fire hazards and checking that all smoke alarms are located properly within the property and are working properly.”

The Coroner was told that a neighbour had raised the alarm and that when the Fire Service arrived shortly after 6am on the morning of January 18, the fire had already burned itself out.

Two officers from the Fire Service entered the property and found Mr Halliday lying at the bottom of the stairs. Efforts were made to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

An examination of the house afterwards found that the floorboards were burned and that there was soot from the fire in various areas of the house.

Members of Mr Halliday’s family, who attended the inquest, said that he was having difficulty walking unaided. They called with him on a twice-weekly basis, and said that he did not smoke or use candles or other oil burners.

On the evening of January 17, he had gone to Charlie’s Bar in Campsie, before being left home by a taxi driver at around 6pm.

This was the last time he was seen alive.

During the inquest, submissions were also made by a forensics officer and a senior member of the Fire Service.