A VERDICT of accidental death has been recorded on a three-year-old girl who died in a house fire at Broadwoodwidger last winter.

Amelia Brown died from smoke inhalation when a fire enveloped her home at Grinacombe Moor on?December 9.

By the time fire officers arrived at the scene shortly after 8pm, they were unable to get inside the property such was the extent of the blaze and toxic smoke which fire officers said developed rapidly due to the unusually high amount of combustible items in the house.

The inquest in Bideford last Thursday heard that Chapel House was divided into two properties, one occupied by Amelia and her mother Abigail and the other by Stephanie and David Brown, Amelia's grandparents.

On the evening of the fire Amelia was playing in her room when her mother left to attend a pre-school event at around 5.45pm. She was being looked after by her grandparents.

David Brown had been cooking a meal in the kitchen downstairs and Stephanie Brown was taking a nap next door, with the aim of joining her family later.

Mrs Brown said she woke up at 7.45pm and as she came down the stairs she smelt burning. She went outside and saw her husband trying to phone the fire brigade on his mobile phone but he could not get a signal.

She said she could see four or five fires going on in the kitchen and rushed across the road to a neighbour's house and asked them to call 999.

'I went back and said to David where is Amelia as I expected to see her running around and he said she was still inside. I tried to get into the front door but I could not get through the heat and the smoke.'

Neighbour Steve Hewitt made attempts to try and rescue Amelia by using a ladder to get to her bedroom window and a breeze block to smash the window, but he said the smoke impeded his access.

'It was impossible to get in the window or through the front door,' he said in a statement.

The inquest heard that the house Abigail lived in had been her grandparents' home and many of their belongings were still there as her mother did not want to part with them. She said she shared a bedroom with Amelia as the second bedroom was used for storage.

Abigail said when she left the house that night she had walked through the kitchen but did not notice that any kitchen appliances were on. Her father had cooked lamb chops in the mini oven which was only a couple of months old. The fridge/freezer that was faulty had been unplugged.

Fire investigation officer George Setter said the fire started in the ground floor kitchen but he was unable to determine the exact time or source due to the extent of the damage and lack of witness statements.

He said the unusually high amount of combustible material in the house generated a large amount of toxic smoke and it would not have been possible to close Amelia's bedroom door due to the quantity of items on the first floor landing. Smoke alarms were not fitted in the property, he said.

'The large amount of toxic smoke overcame Amelia Brown,' said Mr Setter.

Mrs Brown said her husband, who has since died, suffered from emphysema and epilepsy.

She said he had checked on Amelia that evening and went to the toilet and heard crackling sounds coming from downstairs. But she said he seemed confused over the order in which they happened.

She said she had been concerned that he was developing early signs of dementia as far back as 2006 as his behaviour was erratic. Doctors who examined Mr Brown several weeks after the fire said he was suffering from a medical condition that affected his ability to fully assess and process information, leading to a delay in appropriate actions.

Deputy North and West Devon Coronor John Tomalin said it was not clear how much the fire had contributed to Mr Brown's condition as, according to his family, he deteriorated greatly after that.

He said it appeared that Amelia was a lively, happy child and well cared for.

'We cannot be specific as to what exactly started the fire and I do not think there is any one factor which contributed to cause Amelia's life to end so early and so tragically,' he said.

'I would like to praise Mr Hewitt for his brave attempts to rescue Amelia and also to the fire brigade for their efforts.'

Both Mr Tomalin and group fire commander Neil Blackburn expressed their condolences to Amelia's family for this 'immensely tragic event.'