A grieving Nottinghamshire mum has described the harrowing moment when she tried to save her two-year-old daughter in a caravan fire in Ingoldmells.
Natasha Broadley and her four children were on holiday at Sealands Caravan Park when the caravan caught fire on August 23, 2021. The Newark mum battled through the thick smoke that filled the caravan in an attempt to save her children.
She was unable to see anything as she desperately tried to find and rescue her children. Her selfless attempt to save her children meant that her three eldest were able to get out of the caravan. But her youngest, two-year-old Louisiana-Brooke Dolan, tragically couldn’t be rescued.
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The mum has exclusively spoken with Lincolnshire Live, about the family holiday which quickly turned into a nightmare. A Lincoln inquest last week ruled the fire had started in the boiler cupboard - but the evidence wasn't there to establish the cause of the fire or that the boiler could be specifically blamed, despite its service history being five months out of date.
The 35-year-old mum said she voiced her concerns that the button to turn the boiler on wasn't working and had to be lit using a lighter, which she wasn't comfortable doing.
"I complained to the owner of the caravan for three days to say come and put the boiler on," she said. "She wanted me to put the boiler on, but I wouldn't put it on with a lighter.
"It took three days and I was that mad - I said 'that's it I'm coming home. I've had enough'.
Miss Broadley said eventually the boiler had been lit using the lighter by someone at the caravan park. "I went into the shower with my eldest Lexus," she continued. "All we did was turn it on.
"I bet we'd only been in there a couple of minutes then Lexus said 'I can smell smoke'. It was like someone had a thousand [cigarettes] in there.
"It was like blue-grey smoke. If I was 30 more seconds in the bathroom [the fire] would have gone straight past and I wouldn't have got out of there at all."
Miss Broadley said the smoke was so thick all she could see was her son's legs. "All I thought was run straight to the window and I swung it clean open."
After getting three of her children out, Miss Broadley risked her life and went back to rescue Louisiana. "As I went back in I took one more breath.
"It was like powder. I've never known smoke like it. I had to do something. I went back in.
"I've never held my breath like that in my life." Miss Broadley searched for her youngest daughter, patting the sofa where she was, but tragically couldn't find her.
"I had to throw myself out of the window and my kids thought I died because I must have been knocked out," she said. "I just couldn't hold my breath and I could hear them screaming out there."
Louisiana was on the floor and an inquest ruled she had died from inhalation of the products of combustion. When asked if she thought a smoke alarm would have saved Louisiana, she said: "Of course. Of course, come on." The caravan was not fitted with one, the inquest found. The caravan park was never investigated in connection with the investigation.
Coroner Lindsay Tasker heard how Lincolnshire Police were unable to prosecute the caravan owner with manslaughter by gross negligence, as it couldn't be established that there was a fault with the boiler that the owner should have known about.
Miss Broadley is now campaigning for better awareness around fire legislation in caravans.
"I want to raise awareness, because smoke comes before fire," she said. "I could have had her and I'm not going to blame myself for the rest of my life."
Miss Broadley said the last 20 months have been a nightmare, adding: "I cry myself to sleep every night because it's the only time I grieve," she said. "I'm a mum throughout the day."
Despite a coroner ruling the cause of the fire will never be known, Miss Broadley believes that the boiler caused it. "I could physically see it on fire," she said.
"But because it was a chalet, it was attacking the roof and the walls. You could see the fire coming out of a hole. I could personally see it myself."
She is planning to meet with her local MP Robert Jenrick to get his advice on what she can do next in Louisiana's memory. Miss Broadley, who has set up a petition on Change.org to raise awareness around fire legislation in caravans, said: "I want to make sure there is something to do. I'm not giving up."
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