Doctor who treated victims of the 7/7 London bombings died in house fire after dropping cigarette butt
The cigarette end was discarded in a plastic bag which caught alight - gutting her home
A HERO doctor who helped treat hundreds of 7/7 bombing victims died after a cigarette butt gutted her home, an inquest heard.
Dr Claire Sheppey, 47, was more than twice the drink drive limit when a cigarette end she discarded in a plastic bag caught alight.
Firefighters scrambled to her home in Islington, north London, discovered a smoke alarm with the batteries removed on a table in the hall on March 16 this year.
Dr Sheppey was pronounced dead from carbon monoxide poisoning at the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, east London where she worked later that day, St Pancras Coroner's Court heard.
Toxicologist Dr Susan Paterson found she had 193 milligrammes of alcohol per decilitre of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrammes and a reading of 100mg is typically associated with drunkenness.
Consultant paediatric anaesthetist Dr Sheppey was worked with the hospital's emergency response team that treated more than 200 victims of the London terror attacks on July 7, 2005.
The inquest heard how she was in bed when a "smouldering fire" broke out after she disposed of a cigarette in a plastic bag by a sofa bed.
The blaze engulfed the sofa and electrical items in the living room before opening a hole in the floor which a firefighter later fell through.
London Fire Brigade investigator Dean Wilkinson said items which fells into the flat below included a wine bottle and chipped cigarettes.
He added: "Around the sofa bed was a number of plastic bags containing cigarette butts, cigarette packets, empty cigarette packets and paper.
"And the fire was determined as starting from a discarded cigarette butt.
"This fire is typical for giving off a lot of smoke before developing.
"In my opinion it would be going on for some time."
Dr Liinda Palm (corr), who carried out the post mortem, wrote in a statement: "Awareness of circumstances may have been impaired.
"Alcohol could have had an influence on her death. But I don't believe it was directly causative to her death."
Firefighters who raced to the Georgian house saw flames "punching through" her the windows to her top floor flat.
On the second search of her home they found her lying on her bed but she was unconscious and had no pulse.
Ruling an accidental verdict, Coroner Mary Hassell said: "It seems to me all the evidence points in the same direction.
"Claire was at home, she had been smoking. She discarded a cigarette butt which wasn't properly out and was disposed of in a plastic bag and then she went to bed.
"A smouldering fire began. The flames would have been very toxic. There was smoke so thick you couldn't see a hand in front of your face.
"It seems to me it was in all likelihood that Claire fell asleep and was never even aware anything was wrong.
"On arrival at hospital, resuscitation was found to be futile as she was already dead.
"I have no hesitation to say this was an accident.
"As a consequence of inadequate disposal of smoking materials she was overcome by toxic fumes.
"The property did not contain working smoke detectors.
"It may not have awoken her but it may have awoken someone else."
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Dr Jane McNeill, clinical director for perioperative medicine and consultant anaesthetist at Barts, the trust that runs the Royal London Hospital, paid tribute to the medic at the time of her death.
She said: "Dr Claire Sheppey was a very valued colleague and important part of our department with a joie de vive that will be so missed.
"Claire was appointed as a consultant in paediatric anaesthetist in 2004, she played a crucial part in the Royal London Hospital's response to the 2005 July bombings in London and has been integral to our department ever since."
The cause of her death was given as 1a, carbon monoxide poisoning.
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