An inquest into a fire that took the lives of two young children in Preston has heard about the chilling moment that a mother and nearby residents were forced to look on while a fire engulfed their family home, with the children still inside. While the flames grew, their mother screamed for help, but to no avail.
It was just after teatime on Friday, April 8, 2022, when Lorena Ferara took her two children, five-year-old Louis and his little sister Desire, just two years old, to the upstairs bedroom of their home in Coronation Crescent, Preston. Her husband had gone to work and Louis was playing on her phone while she slept on the bed with her toddler.
Lorena was woken by a smoke alarm going off and found a roaring inferno taking hold downstairs. The inquest heard that she returned to the bedroom and attempted to lift the children up to a small window, but they refused to climb out of it, reports LancsLive.
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Sarah Williams, who made the first 999 call at around 7.52pm, was babysitting her granddaughter at a nearby house when she heard Lorena screaming “save my children”. In a statement to police, she said: “I saw smoke billowing from the upstairs window and flames coming from the downstairs window.
“I saw two children banging on the upstairs window and a female screaming for help. I then saw the female on the floor [outside] and assumed she had jumped.”
Gordon Simpson, who was in a nearby convenience store at the time, raced to the house and tried to get inside but was forced back by the “inferno” and thick black smoke. Another eyewitness said they could “see children on the other side of the window, crying and banging, they could at first see their faces but then the smoke became too thick and they could no longer see them”.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and were inside by 8pm. Louis and Desire were carried out by firefighters seven minutes later but despite the best efforts of medics they never regained consciousness and died three days later.
An inquest which started today (December 8) at County Hall in Preston heard extracts of a statement Lorena gave to police. In it, she described desperately trying to save her children.
“I took the children and raised them on the windowsill to be able to breathe,” Lorena said. “In a few seconds the room was full of smoke. I was struggling to raise them to get some air; the children were coughing very loud.
“I put my hand out of the window and shouted for help. I raised them to the window. I was shouting to people below ‘should I throw the children?’.
“I took Desire and tried to take her out of the window but she resisted out of fear. I couldn’t do it anymore but the people were shouting to take the children out of the window.
“I went out of the window hoping that someone would climb up to help us. The people were shouting to me to jump. They put a wooden board on the trash cans and I jumped.”
The inquest heard that the family couldn’t escape through the larger window as the handle had been removed by Lucian after the children had started to climb onto the furniture and their parents feared they would fall out of the window. An investigation concluded that Louis had managed to get out of the bedroom while his mum was asleep, by using a coat hanger to unlock the door, and then started the fire by holding a lighter against the settee downstairs.
The children’s parents have previously voiced concerns about the speed of the emergency service response. However, the inquest heard that, around seven minutes after the first 999 call firefighters were entering the house and, just short of eight minutes after that, had brought both children out.
The inquest watched video footage, which appeared to be filmed on a neighbour’s phone, which showed the huge flames shooting out of the downstairs window of the mid-terraced house. For several minutes thick black smoke continued to billow out of the house.
Firefighter Steve Robinson was one of the first inside the house. “We jumped out and got the hose reel; there was smoke everywhere,” he said. “Due to the severity of the flames there was no option of hitching a ladder. We said ‘we need to get in there’.
“It was red hot and our torches couldn’t penetrate the smoke. We couldn’t see anything so we had to search by feel.
“In my 25 years, I’ve never been on a job like it. They were the first casualties I’ve ever carried out of a job.”
Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson, who led the investigation into the circumstances of the fire, was asked if she thought anything more could have been done to save the two children. “Having watched the footage it’s highly evident that everyone was doing their absolute utmost to save those children,” she said.
“Everybody was trying to do their best by those children and it’s extremely sad and unfortunate they were unable to save them. I don’t believe there is anything more than could have been done.”
The inquest, which is being heard by Area Coroner Chris Long, is due to last four days
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
