The Press
NORTH CANTERBURY, New Zealand — A North Canterbury firefighter broke down at an inquest as he told of leaving a woman he believed was dead inside a burning house.
Mary “Jean” Chaston, 87, died in Christchurch Hospital last September after a fire that started from an electric blanket in a bedroom at her Rangiora home.
The volunteer firefighter, who has name suppression, told an inquest in the Rangiora District Court yesterday that he thought Chaston was dead after finding her on a bedroom floor during the third attempted search of the house.
The firefighter said her mouth was open, with her eyes rolled back, and there was no movement in her chest cavity.
He was in tears as he explained that he was exhausted, low on air supply and did not believe he could move Chaston because of her clothing and large build.
A second firefighter said she took her colleague’s word that Chaston was dead.
“I heard [him] say, ‘She’s dead, she’s dead, just leave her’.”
She said she did not believe a person without protective gear could have survived the fire, but she would have tried had she known Chaston’s condition.
Firefighter witnesses told the hearing that delays in finding Chaston were caused by firefighters being directed to the wrong room and the door to Chaston’s bedroom being missed during the search.
A senior fire officer, who has name suppression, said he was frustrated to learn searchers had not recovered Chaston, despite a rescue attempt having been ordered.
“I was frustrated with the time that it had taken to recover her when I expected a snap rescue,” he said.
“I said we had no f...... right to determine if she was dead or not.”
Advanced paramedic Rod Partington, who was waiting at the entrance to the house, told the inquest he was “appalled” to hear a firefighter pronounce Chaston dead.
He said he demanded Chaston be recovered and believed the outcome could have been “significantly different” had she been removed earlier. A pulse was found during resuscitation attempts but could not be sustained.
Pathologist Martin Sage said the cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by brain damage from smoke inhalation. He said carbon monoxide saturation would have left Chaston’s brain “irretrievably damaged”, despite the heartbeat, and saturation could happen within a minute or two.
Husband Jack Chaston, 89, was pulled to safety by a member of the public. Jack Chaston said he thought his wife was behind him, but she may have returned to her room to get a dressing gown.
“I heard Jean crying ‘Help me, Jack, help me’, but I couldn’t,” he said. “If I had gone back I’d be dead too.”
The inquest before coroner Christopher Devonport will continue today.
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