A 13-year-old schoolgirl has tragically died after a fire engulfed her bunk bed as she slept, just months after firefighters were called to a separate blaze at the same family home.
Inquest Hears of Second Devastating Fire
Tragic Layla Allen lost her life in the ferocious fire at a property in Prescot, Merseyside, in April last year. The Year 8 pupil at St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston was found by fire crews after her parents, Shaun Allen and Michelle McGurry, escaped the property with her five siblings.
Coroner Anita Bhardwaj heard that firefighters entered the home and discovered the teenager lying on the top bunk of a bed in her first-floor bedroom at the rear of the house. Her condition was described as "not compatible with life" and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Previous Fire and Declined Safety Help
The court was told this fatal incident occurred just six months after Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service had been called to the same address for another fire. That earlier blaze, in November 2024, was in a front bedroom and was determined to have been started by a member of the family, most likely a child "playing with a lighter."
Following that first fire, the service visited the family to carry out a risk assessment and offered to refer them to SAFE (Safety Advice and Fire Education), a programme for young people involved with fire. However, Coroner Bhardwaj stated that "safe interventions were declined" by Ms McGurry.
Unanswered Questions and an Open Conclusion
Police investigating Layla's death found no evidence of third-party involvement from outside the home. The investigation ruled out all potential ignition sources "with the exception of a naked flame" like a lighter. Two disposable lighters, which Layla's parents said did not belong to them, were found in the property.
The coroner noted that Layla was a fit and healthy teenager who likely would have been able to escape if awake, supporting the conclusion that she was asleep when the fire started. A post-mortem examination confirmed her cause of death as the "effects of fire," with carbon monoxide from the blaze found in her lungs.
Despite the findings, Ms Bhardwaj recorded an open conclusion, stating: "There are too many unanswered questions here. We don't know what actually happened. We don't know who started the actual fire."
Addressing the family directly, the coroner expressed deep concern about the two fires in a short period. "I cannot stress enough the importance of you as a family... to have the input of the fire services to give you guidance and support in keeping the children safe," she said, adding that social services were already involved with the family.
