Discarded cigarette sparked fatal Walsall blaze
A former army sergeant died on his birthday three months after a discarded cigarette sparked a fire at his home in the Black Country, an inquest heard.
John Griffiths suffered 27 per cent burns in the blaze, which started while he was in bed at his flat in Tannery Close, Walsall.
The 75-year-old, who served with the Royal Corps of Signals for 18 years, was bed-bound and had managed to contact firefighters.
A sprinkler system kicked in as the mattress caught light but Mr Griffiths, who suffered a stroke 10 years previously, suffered burns across his body.
He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he died months after his condition deteriorated and he contracted broncho-pneumonia. He died in hospital on November 2 last year.
Mr Griffiths served in the military for 18 years before coming out to run the old Fitters Arms pub in Hatherton Street, Walsall, for his family. After that the divorced father-of-one worked as a security guard.
The inquest at Smethwick Coroner's Court was told he had called the fire service himself, and the mattress was partly alight when crews arrived.
He said he had fallen asleep and had been smoking.
The cigarette burnt a hole into the air flow type mattress which fanned the flames. The sprinkler system then came into force.
Mr Griffiths was a keen sports fan with an interest in football and cricket. He was bed-bound but carers went in to see him four times a day.
Senior Black Country coroner Zafar Siddique recorded a verdict of accidental death. He said: "The fire started accidentally when a discarded cigarette was dropped onto the bedding.
"Sadly, it is a tragedy when somebody dies."
His sister Adele Rowlands, from Bloxwich, paid tribute to her brother adding she had received a call from him earlier saying he had no cigarettes.
The 67 year-old said: "It is just sad it has happened and I still miss him. I wish he was still here. I went to see him as often as I could.
"He was always my big brother who I idolised. He loved his own company, he lived on his own.
"He loved music, he had lots of old records and books. He was an avid reader, it was like a library in his flat. He would go through a book a night he was that quick."
She added that hospital staff had been 'brilliant' during their care of him.