A mum-of-four died in a "ferocious" house fire as her husband climbed up their home's drainpipe in a desperate bid to save her, an inquest has heard.
Kate Mulcahy, 37, died in the blaze that ignited early in the morning at her home in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in November 2024. Rochdale Coroners' Court heard that Mrs Mulcahy's husband became aware of the fire at around 4am on November 10, just over a couple of hours after she returned home from a baby shower at 1.30am.
Her young children were led to safety thanks to the help of neighbours and her husband, bricklayer Mr Mulcahy, but he was unable to reach his wife before she died.
Desperate rescue attempt
The court heard that Mrs Mulcahy had been sleeping on the top floor of the family's five-bedroom detached property, where the fire is believed to have started. When he became aware of the flames and their location, Mr Mulcahy scaled the side of their home and reached the roof, where he smashed a skylight window and removed roof tiles.
Despite his efforts, the flames were too intense for him to battle, and he was forced to retreat. Pictures from the aftermath show the damaged skylight and exposed roofing from where he tried to remove the tiling.
Firefighters raced to the home, where they extinguished the flames and tragically discovered Mrs Mulcahy dead inside. Coroner Michael Salt concluded her death was an accident, adding that the cause of the fire was undetermined.
Tributes and witness account
Mrs Mulcahy's sister, Emma Cropper, paid tribute to the "best mum, sister and auntie" following her death, remembering "her kindness, laughter and warmth touched so many lives". In a public post on Facebook, she said the "outstanding mum" will be "missed deeply".
Neighbour Tim Ainsworth said he heard "loud bangs" and dogs barking next door before Mr Mulcahy dropped his children on his doorstep. He added that the dad was "screaming in panic" and appeared in a state of "sheer terror" as he watched him climb the drainpipe to the roof.
He recalled seeing "really large" and "intense" flames, and was met by an impassable "all of fire" as he attempted to enter the property himself to help. He said in a statement: "I thought if anyone was in that room, they wouldn't have survived." As he tried to help, he witnessed Mr Mulcahy throwing tiles off the roof and shouting "Kate" at the "top of his voice".
Investigation findings
Mrs Mulcahy died as the result of "burns and the inhalation of fire fumes", a post mortem confirmed, with forensic pathologist Dr Jamie Robinson unable to find evidence of an assault, injury, or underlying disease.
Investigators found a vape and cigarette lighter in Mrs Mulcahy's handbag, which was in the room. The court heard the "careless use of smoking materials" could not be ruled out as a potential cause of the fire, though it was "just a possibility" that they were involved.
The court also heard that specialists could not 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."
