Mum’s agony as daughter, 14, and husband killed in house fire after desperate battle to save them
A MUM has revealed her heartbreak after her husband and 14-year-old daughter were killed in a devastating house fire.
Paul Scott and daughter Mia died after the blaze erupted at their home in Workington, Cumbria, in May.
An inquest heard how the fire was sparked by a cigarette butt being chucked into the open fire in the living room, Lancs Live reports.
The desperate dad – known as Archie to friends – had yelled “help me” as he frantically tried to escape through an upstairs window.
His wife Caroline had also screamed out hysterically as the flames took hold of the house with her family inside.
She has now paid tribute to her “laugh a minute” husband and her daughter, who had an “infectious personality”.
Caroline added: “She was our world.”
The mum also told how her daughter adored the family dog Ged – a black Labrador – who had alerted them to the fire but has since vanished.
Paying tribute to Archie, she added: “We tried for a few years to have a child and finally we had our daughter in 2007. Mia was our only child.
“We got married May 2014 at Whitehaven with Mia as our flower girl.
“Life was an adventure with him and there was never a dull moment.”
The inquest was told how a neighbour had seen Archie hanging out of the upstairs front window and appeared to have been badly burnt.
Keith Barton said: “I grabbed hold of him under his arms but couldn’t get a good grip. He seemed to come to a bit.
“I got him a bit out of the window. I never heard him speak. He did groan a bit. The smoke was so bad I had to come down for air.
“It felt like forever trying to get him out of the window. The smoke was so thick. Someone came over and said you’ve done as much as you can.
“Caroline was in disbelief I don’t think she could take it in. They were shouting at Archie telling him to jump.”
Two other passers-by had run around to the back of the house to attempt to rescue Mia by smashing her window.
Tragically they were forced to retreat after a massive backdraught caused a series of explosions.
Keith’s wife Christine, who is Caroline’s best friend, said: “I knew that Mia was not going to be able to get out.
“He asked how old she was I said 14 and he got upset. Caroline was in shock was saying her whole life was in that house.”
Post mortems revealed both Archie and Mia died from smoke inhalation, with the majority of the teen’s burns happening after she had died.
Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said the cigarette end had caused a coal bucket and wastepaper to ignite when embers from the fire had floated back into the room.
Returning a conclusion of accidental death, Assistant Coroner Margaret Taylor said: “Despite their attempts of neighbours, passers-by and the emergency services Mia and Archie died.”