A mother of four died in a 'ferocious' house fire as her husband and neighbours desperately tried to save her after her children were led to safety, an inquest heard. It remains unclear what caused the blaze that claimed the life of Kate Mulcahy, 37, in October 2024.
Rochdale Coroners' Court was told project manager Mrs Mulcahy was at a friend's baby shower prior to the fire at the Middleton home she shared with her husband of 10 years John and their twin sons and two daughters, aged between one and nine. She returned to the property on the Ramsden Farm estate, off Round Thorn Road, at around 1.30am on October 10. Her husband became aware a fire had broken out just before 4am.
Husband's desperate rescue attempt
Bricklayer Mr Mulcahy, the court heard, managed to get the children out safely, taking them to a nearby house. He and two neighbours were unable to reach Mrs Mulcahy. She had been sleeping on the top floor of the five-bedroom detached property, where the fire is believed to have started.
Mr Mulcahy scaled a drainpipe, climbed onto the roof, smashed a skylight window and removed roof tiles in his desperate bid to reach his wife, the court heard, until he was forced to retreat due to the severity of the fire. Firefighters raced to the scene and tackled the flames. Mrs Mulcahy was tragically later found dead inside.
Inquest findings
Coroner Michael Salt concluded her death was an accident. He said the cause of the fire hadn't been determined. The inquest earlier heard there had been 'difficulties in the relationship' and that Mrs Mulcahy, originally from north Manchester, had been sleeping in an attic room. Mr Mulcahy and the children slept on the floor below. A neighbour said the house had been put on the market prior to the tragedy.
CCTV, the court heard, showed Mrs Mulcahy returning home in the early hours. A smoke alarm went off at 3.51am. Mr Mulcahy tried unsuccessfully to get into the attic room and retreated into the street.
Neighbours' accounts
Neighbour Tim Ainsworth, whose wife had been out with Mrs Mulcahy earlier in the day, said he heard 'loud bangs' and dogs barking. He added in a statement he then heard Mr Mulcahy knocking at his door, dropping his children on his doorstep. Mr Ainsworth said Mr Mulcahy was heard 'screaming in panic' and that he was in a state of 'sheer terror'. He said he watched him climb a drainpipe and get onto the roof. The flames, he said, were 'really large' and 'intense'.
Mr Ainsworth said that when he went into the property himself, he was met by a 'wall of fire' and was unable to get into the room Mrs Mulcahy slept in. "I thought if anyone was in that room, they wouldn't have survived," he said. He said that when he went back outside, he saw Mr Mulcahy removing roof tiles and shouting 'Kate' at the 'top of his voice'. Mr Ainsworth said Mr Mulcahy's hair was singed and that he had 'soot marks on his forehead'.
He said he knew Mrs Mulcahy smoked, but didn't know if she smoked in the house. Neighbour Marcel Duffy said he saw Mrs Mulcahy earlier at a local pub and that she seemed in good spirits. He said he later saw the 'flames coming from the Velux windows'. Mr Duffy also ran into the house to try and help save Mrs Mulcahy. He fled when he 'started to hear structural damage'. "I thought 'she must have died', because I saw the fire," he added.
Forensic evidence
A post mortem concluded Mrs Mulcahy died as the result of 'burns and the inhalation of fire fumes'. Forensic pathologist Dr Jamie Robinson said he found no evidence of an assault, injury or underlying disease. A small amount of alcohol, under the drink drive limit, was found in Mrs Mulcahy's system, along with a 'low level' of amphetamine and cannabis.
He said it was possible the drugs may have 'influenced her behaviour' and 'perhaps rendered her less able to get out of the scene quickly'. Dr Robinson said Mrs Mulcahy was likely to have been rendered unconscious quickly and that there was no evidence of 'a prolonged period of survival'.
Forensic scientist Martin Crookes said he believed the loud bangs would have been the result of roof windows failing. He said the fact the front door and attic bedroom door were open would likely have created a 'chimney effect', with oxygen sucked in, fuelling the blaze. He said he believed the 'seat of the fire' was in the attic room but that he was unable to reliably determine the precise cause. The entire room was engulfed in flames, he added, which made the investigation 'very difficult'.
A vape and a cigarette lighter were found in Mrs Mulcahy's handbag in the room. The court heard the 'careless use of smoking materials' could not be ruled out as the cause, but that it was 'just a possibility'. Specialists were unable to exclude the 'incendiary failure of an electrical appliance' or 'naked flame ignition of combustible materials by one of the occupants'.
Detective Inspector Kim Tallis-Hines said she was satisfied there was no evidence of any suspicious circumstances or third-party involvement. Coroner Mr Salt, concluding Mrs Mulcahy's death was accidental, said: "These are circumstances that have been thoroughly investigated. Sadly, for various reasons, we don't know 100 percent what took place."
In the wake of her tragic death, Mrs Mulcahy's heartbroken sister, Emma Cropper, paid a heartfelt tribute to her. Ms Cropper described her as the 'best mum, sister and auntie' and said 'her kindness, laughter and warmth touched so many lives'. She said her sister was an 'outstanding mum' and will be 'missed deeply'. "She really was the best, and I will miss her until my last breath," she said in a public post on Facebook. Adding: "She really was the best Mum, Sister & Auntie, and I can't imagine a world without her in it. I'm so lucky as we have so many memories shared, but so sad we won't make anymore."
