A tragic incident occurred in Prescot, Merseyside, where a 13-year-old schoolgirl named Layla Allen lost her life in a devastating fire that engulfed her bed while she was asleep. Layla, a Year 8 student at St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston, was discovered by firefighters trapped inside her bedroom on the first floor of the house, where she was lying on the top bunk of a bunk bed. Despite efforts to rescue her, Layla’s condition was deemed unviable, and she was pronounced dead at the scene in April of the previous year.
During an inquest into Layla’s death, coroner Anita Bhardwaj highlighted challenges in obtaining witness statements from the other children present in the house due to concerns about further traumatizing them. The investigation found no evidence implicating any external parties in the tragedy, narrowing down the potential sources of the fire to a naked flame, possibly from a lighter found on the premises.
The inquiry suggested that Layla was likely asleep when the fire erupted, as indicated by her position in bed. It was speculated that if she had started the fire accidentally, she would have had the physical ability to attempt self-rescue. While the exact cause of the fire could not be definitively determined, the presence of carbon monoxide in Layla’s lungs indicated the lethal effects of the blaze.
The fatal incident followed a previous fire at the family home just six months earlier, which was attributed to a child playing with a lighter in one of the bedrooms. Despite fire services offering safety interventions and educational programs for fire prevention, the family declined further assistance. The coroner’s open conclusion emphasized the need for fire safety education and support for the family, given the recurrence of fires involving lighters and the tragic outcome in Layla’s case.
