20 April 2023 , 14:17
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A horror caravan fire that killed a two-year-old girl started from a cupboard where the boiler hadn't had its gas safety certificate renewed for five months.
Despite this, a coroner could not rule for certain the boiler caused the fatal fire in Sealands Caravan Park, Ingoldmells, on August 23, 2021.
The tragic incident led to the death of two-year-old Louisiana Brooke Dolan.
Her mother, Natasha Broadley, was in the shower when she smelled smoke and watched the boiler go up in flames.
But today Coroner Lindsay Tasker said at an inquest: "The evidence just isn't there to establish the cause of the fire", Lincolnshire Live reports.
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Concluding an inquest into Lousiana's death, Ms Tasker spoke directly to Miss Broadley, saying: "I am sorry, for you, I have not been able to give you that answer".
Tearfully, Miss Broadley said: "I can't spend the rest of my life not knowing". Despite this, she bravely added: "I won't give up".
The coroner ruled the cause of death being inhalation of the products of combustion, labelling the incident as a "tragic accident".
Miss Broadley was tearful throughout the inquest and expressed her anger that the boiler wasn't being explicitly blamed.
When station manager at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Karl Foxall was giving live evidence, Miss Broadley along with friends and family asked Mr Foxall to clarify where the fire started from.
"It definitely started in the cupboard but what we can't categorically say that it was from the boiler", Mr Foxhall said.
On the day of the fire, Miss Broadley had called the owner of the caravan to check the boiler regarding her concerns over it.
The coroner's court heard that the owner's son came to look at it. The igniting button on the boiler didn't work and had to be lit using a long lighter.
Mr Foxhall said the owner's son was given the long lighter by one of Miss Broadley's children, as it was in the kitchen. It was shortly after the owner's son left that Miss Broadley smelled smoke while in the shower and got her three eldest children out of the caravan.
Tragically, Louisiana was unable to be saved. "There was no deliberate ignition", said the senior investigating officer of the incident detective inspector Jo Fortune.
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"The gas safety certificate was out of date by five months", she added.
Lincolnshire Police made enquiries with the Crown Prosecution Service about the possibility of charging the caravan owner with manslaughter by gross negligence.
A statement from Louisiana's grandmother Donna Broadley was also read out at the inquest.
She said the toddler enjoyed being with her family and "loved the attention" of being the youngest. On the day of the fire, when Louisiana was on holiday with her siblings and mum, she had sausage and chips before being put to bed.
Her grandmother said: "Sadly, this was her last day but she spent it doing what she loved. That was being with her mum, brothers and sister".