Cigarette blamed as woman dies in fire

Firefighters found the woman, named by neighbours as Eileen Gill, aged 82, unconscious upstairs in her home in Park Grove, Worsbrough Common, Barnsley, and carried her outside.

Paramedics battled to revive her but she was pronounced dead at hospital.

Police and the fire service are investigatng but a carelessly discarded cigarette may have started the blaze.

Firefighters were called to the terrace house at 12.45am after a neighbour smelled smoke and spotted the fire.

They smashed the front door and two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus tackled the blaze while two searched the house.

Incident commander Simon Dillon said there were no smoke alarms .

"If smoke alarms had been fitted the woman would certainly have stood more of a chance of getting out: 100 times more of a chance of surviving. We can't stress enough how invaluable alarms are and how they really can save lives."

Neighbour Marjorie Turvey, 78, described Mrs Gill, a widower who had been married twice, as "a real character".

"She said she had been independent until recent years when she began to spend more time insider her house and did not venture much further than the local corner shop. She was a bright and knowledgeable lady and very independent until her later years."

She has a daughter, believed to live in Spain, and one son.

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