Fire which killed young dad started near switchboard

Photo / File

A West Coast man who died in a fire as he slept after a drinking session had told his partner he planned to arrange life insurance cover the very next day, an inquest has heard.

An Coroner's Court inquest began today in Greymouth for Kaniere man Benjamin McBride, which heard the cause of the fire remains "undetermined".

On the evening of May 25, 2013, Mr McBride picked up a friend on his quad bike and shared a box of beer and a cannabis joint in the shed near the house he shared with his partner Renee Johnson and their two daughters.

About 10pm the two men went to the Kaniere Hotel, where they had up to two pitchers of beer each, then returned to the shed with takeaway beers from the hotel. Mr McBride's friend walked home soon after.

About 4.19am, Ms Johnson was woken by the sound of an explosion and saw an orange glow coming from the shed. Her father Wayne Johnson, a member of the Hokitika fire brigade, said she was hysterical over the phone, saying "the shed's on fire and Ben's not inside the house".

Mr McBride was found dead on the floor of the shed, near a couch. Ms Johnson said he often slept on the couch after a drinking session and once asleep was very difficult to wake.

Specialist fire investigator Louis Jones said the cause of the fire was undetermined, but charring indicated the fire did not start near Mr McBride, making it unlikely that it was caused by him smoking.

There were signs the fire started near a switchboard across the shed due to an electrical event, then spread to the walls and combustible materials such as petrol and cans of paint.

Ms Johnson said she heard her partner come home from the hotel about 1.30am, when he revved the quad bike engine and woke their daughters.

However, lawyer Peter Egden said Mr McBride's friend had them leaving the hotel at 11pm and the publican thought they left about 3am, and he asked why that discrepancy had not been clarified by police.

Detective Sergeant Gavin Nichols said it was common to have variations in witness testimony and was confident in the accuracy of the police investigation, though he could not recall the details of the evidence.

Ms Johnson told the court that her last conversation with Mr McBride was about getting a life insurance policy, but he said he would deal with it the next day.

The hearing was adjourned after questions were raised by experts on behalf of Mr McBride's family.

- The Greymouth Star