Homes rewired after blaze kills man
More than 500 homes in Dudley borough have been rewired after a Kingswinford pensioner died of smoke inhalation when the alarm system did not go off during a fire at his home.
Dudley Coroner's Court heard on Friday how properties throughout the borough had now been rewired by the original contractor following the death of 76-year-old Ray Marson.
The inquest was told how emergency services were not automatically called to Mr Marson's council house in Dingle Road because his phone was off the hook and disconnected the alarm system.
Mr Marson, a former brick maker, was found dead in his front room by fire crews at around 9am on April 7.
Fire investigator station officer Peter Smith said a neighbour heard a fire alarm at around 3.45am but could not tell where it was coming from.
Mr Smith was concerned about the failure of the automatic alarm system and said it was "likely" Mr Marson could have been resuscitated if it had been working.
He told the inquest that the cause of the blaze was two cushions that had been placed close to a gas fire.
Harry Gwinnett from Incom, the Yorkshire firm that installed the units, said the monitoring centre was not alerted by the smoke alarm because the phone was off the hook.
He blamed instructions from manufacturer TyneTec for the problem, saying it did not state the system must be wired up in a particular way.
Black Country Coroner Mr Robin Balmain recorded a verdict of accidental death, and said he was satisfied the problem had been overcome.
TyneTec declined to comment after the hearing.