A house fire that killed a six-year-old girl in Leicester was caused by a vape left charging in her bedroom, according to details presented at a hearing.
Chamiah Brindley, known as Miah, died after the blaze broke out in the early hours of September 10, 2024, at her home on Bedale Drive. Investigations revealed that the lithium-ion battery of a vape pen overheated and caught fire while it was plugged in inside the attic room she shared with an older sibling.
Family members tried to reach the child after breaking down the door to her room but were forced back by thick smoke and flames. Skylight windows in the attic had been nailed shut, preventing any possible escape.
Miah’s mother, Tracey Moore, said she was woken shortly after 4 a.m. by one of her daughters shouting that the house was on fire. The property was being shared by three adults and ten children that night. She helped the rest of the family escape before running upstairs with her partner and son to find Miah.
Area coroner Ivan Cartwright was told that several hard-wired smoke alarms in the property had been removed months before the incident. Firefighters managed to reach Miah’s room but were unable to save her. She was pronounced dead less than 20 minutes after the fire began.
A post-mortem examination found that Miah died from inhalation of the products of combustion. The hearing continues to examine the safety conditions in the home and the risks posed by charging electronic devices overnight.
