Coroner questions materials used to manufacture mobile homes after Brinaleck death

A coroner has questioned the materials being used to make mobile homes after a man  was burned to death in a fire in Gweedore.
Columba Doherty had been celebrating a 21st birthday party when he returned home to his mobile home in Brinaleck on January 31st, 2008.
Only the shell of the mobile home belonging to the 29 year old handyman was found the next morning at 7.30am after it had burned to the ground.
An inquest into Mr Doherty’s death at Letterkenny Coroner’s Court heard how it was likely that the blaze was caused by a cigarette which had fallen onto bedclothes.
Mr.Doherty’s injuries were so bad that he could only be identified by his dental records and by a watch on his hand which his sister Ann McFadden identified.
Pathologist Dr.Gerry O’Rourke said death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning brought on by smoke inhalation as a result of a fire.
Garda Forensic Crime Scene Investigator John Harkin said there was only a shell left of the mobile home.
Coroner John Canon said he did not mind if the ten person jury added ‘a ryder’ to their verdict making suggestions on the materials used to make mobile homes.
He said it seemed like these homes offered very little protection in the case of a sudden fire.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict of accidental death in accordance with the findings of pathologist Dr Gerry O’Rourke.