A MAN who lived without gas or electricity died in a fire in his Darwen house, but his life could have been saved by a smoke detector, an inquest heard.

Blackburn deputy coroner Michael Singleton returned a verdict of accidental death on Alan Holden, 68, of Heys Lane, after hearing that he had suffocated in the blaze in March.

Darwen retained firefighters Kevin Birtwell and Gary Roberts were called to the fire in the early hours.

In the smoke logged house they found Mr Holden slumped in a chair.

"There didn't seem to be any sign of life," officer Birtwell said. Assistant divisional fire officer Stuart Padbury, who compiled the accident report, said there was evidence of rubbish having been burned in a grate in the room where the dead man was found.

"In my opinion the fire was fuelled by large amounts of paper and wood nearby," he said.

"There was no gas or electricity in the house.

"Had there been a smoke alarm he could have got out.

"This is a classic case of where a detector could have saved a life."

Pathologist John Rutherford said the cause of death was smoke inhalation.

The deputy coroner told the dead man's family: "He was asleep and wouldn't have known about the fire.

"I hope this is of some comfort to you."

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