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Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 12:56
anna.edwards@essnmedia.co.uk
A four-year-old boy who died in a house blaze had been playing with matches, an inquest heard today.
Little Jones Addai cowered under a quilt in his foster sister's bedroom as the blaze quickly spread.
But as the blaze engulfed the flat in Willowtree Way, Thornton Heath, the little boy didn't stand a chance.
Fire investigator Steven Collins told Croydon Coroners' Court how they had pieced together the events leading up to the tragic blaze, which broke out in the early hours of New Year's Day.
Jones had attended a church service that night with his foster family, and had been driven back by his uncle, Ernest Kwondo, with his foster sister and a friend, Vanessa, 8.
The uncle then returned to the church to collect more family members, leaving the young trio alone.
The fire investigation unit watch manager said: "The foster sister remembers seeing a box of matches on her computer table in her room.
"When they got back from church she made a glass of squash while the other two children were in the lounge."
The foster sister told the watch manager that the three children were starting to drop off to sleep, but she awoke to the smell of burnt matches, and followed the smell to the upstairs bedroom, where she saw a small fire on the edge of the bed.
Firefighter Collins said: "She rushed downstairs to gather up Vanessa and Jones, but could only find Vanessa.
"She got a bowl of water and her phone to try and tackle the fire, but as she went up stairs she dropped the bowl and could hear Jones calling her name.
"She said the flames had risen to approximately 4ft high, and she left the premises with Vanessa, making a call to the fire brigade."
The terrified duo ran to the foster sister's aunt's house nearby, and the family ran back with buckets of water to try and stop the rapidly spreading flames.
But by the time the fire brigade arrived, the flames had spread and the boy, born in Ghana, was found by fire fighters huddled under the bedclothes.
Because of extensive fire damage, the fire brigade could not find the matches, but Mr Collins said that relatives had told him appliances, including an iron, had been switched off.
He and Dr Palmer agreed the likelihood was that Jones had been playing with matches and they had accidentally set fire to the bedclothes, and he was scared and thought hiding under the duvet would protect him.
Jones' mother, Augustina Monney, a trader, and his father, Kingsley Addai, a cleaner, were not present at the inquest, and are believed to have left the country.
The boy died from inhaling the fumes, and a medical report believed he had been unconscious before he suffered burns to his body.
Dr Roy Palmer recorded a verdict of accidental death.
TRAGIC: The aftermath of the blaze n17g05 by Danny Fitzpatrick
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