by Keyan Milanian

kmilanian@thekmgroup.co.uk

The daughter of a 90-year-old woman who died in a house fire has paid tribute to her mother after an inquest ruled her death was an accident.

Eileen Smith, of Chestnut Avenue, Chatham, died from smoke inhalation after a heating element caught light in her home.

A coroner heard Mrs Smith was a “hoarder” and had started to use the device, possibly for warming drinks.

The mother-of-three lived alone in the detached house, built by her husband George – a keen gardener and retired builder who died in 1997.

Born in Chatham, she was a housewife who also enjoyed gardening and grew flowers, fruit and vegetables.

She continued to live alone despite suffering from a number of ailments, including osteoperosis of the spine, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – both of which, the inquest heard, may have contributed to her passing out from the smoke.

Mrs Smith’s daughter, Christine Myers, said: “She was very caring and loving and she got on with things. She might have struggled at times, but she would give anything a go.

“She was my mum and there will not be anyone else like her in my eyes. She loved her flowers and I will always remember her in the garden – that is how I will picture her.”

The inquest heard neighbour Frank Smith tried to save Mrs Smith on March 4 last year, but could not reach her due to the heat from the blaze.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus to enter the building and found Mrs Smith in her bedroom, where the fire is believed to have started.

Det Sgt Adam Marshall, said: “Mrs Smith was fiercely independent. Despite suffering from various health issues, she never complained and would often do her gardening.

“She was also a collector of items and the presence of a heating element was not a surprise to the family.”
Recording a verdict of accidental death at county hall, coroner Roger Sykes extended his sympathies to Mrs Smith’s family and called her death “the most tragic of accidents”.