by Lynn Cox

A disabled man died of horrific burns after a fire which was probably started by a cigarette dropped into his lap when he fell asleep, an inquest heard.

Ivan Swan, 64, was rescued from his first floor flat in Price’s Court, Wheatcroft Close, Sittingbourne, by firefighters on September 16.

He died at the Queen Victoria Hospital specialist burns unit in East Grinstead a week later.

An inquest into his death, held at County Hall, Maidstone heard how fire crews found Mr Swan.

Firefighter Matthew Barney said: “There was virtually no visibility and the casualty was in the chair and his lap was on fire.

“I sprayed it with a bit of water to put the flames out and moved him and put him on the ground.

“At first I couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not, there were no signs of life, but then he raised his hands above his head.”

Mr Swan had been wearing a bathrobe and underpants but these had virtually disintegrated because of the flames.

Watch manager Mark Innes, who investigated the cause of the fire, concluded it had probably been caused by a cigarette which had fallen onto Mr Swan’s lap after he had fallen asleep.

The flat is in a block run by Carr-Gomm, a charity that offers housing and support services to vulnerable people with a range of special needs.
Burns

Mr Innes said: “They told me Mr Swan used to like to have a drink in the afternoon in his chair.

“The chair was of an old style and after we examined it we discovered there were numerous cigarette burns on it and when we took off the cover there were lots of old cigarette burns beneath it.

“My conclusion was that Mr Swan had fallen asleep after either having a drink or taking some medication and was not roused by the smoke alarm going off.”

Mr Swan’s family, who were at the inquest, confirmed that he had a problem with drink and that he was so disabled he wouldn’t have been able to get out of the property even if he was awake.

Coroner Roger Sykes said he was satisfied that Mr Swan’s death was accident.