Overview
- Area Coroner Emma Mather recorded smoke inhalation and burns as the cause of death at a March 12 hearing in Accrington.
- Fire investigator Warren Topp testified that tests showed the wheelchair could ignite within five to ten seconds without touching the heater.
- Evidence indicated David Wilson tried to move through a narrow gap by a tractor and the heater and may have become stuck.
- The chair was fitted with a lap belt and a bungee cord, which the coroner questioned as appropriate, though any contribution to the death was not determined.
- The inquest heard of a prior tyre-melting near miss and a gas cylinder left not fully stowed, highlighting domestic hazards for medically vulnerable people.