Inquest Examines Ambulance Service’s Priority Handling of Fatal House Fire

An inquest heard that the ambulance service did not immediately assign the highest level of priority to a house fire that tragically resulted in the deaths of two young children. Louis Busuioc, aged five, and three-year-old Desire Busuioc passed away four days subsequent to a fire in Preston, Lancashire, on 8 April 2022. Their parents alleged that the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) could have responded with greater speed to the blaze. Angela Lee, NWAS service delivery manager, informed the boys’ inquest at Preston County Hall that a 999 call had not been elevated from “category two” to “category one,” which is the classification requiring a seven-minute response time and is reserved for life-threatening situations. The inquest was told that initial reports indicated the presence of several individuals within the burning structure. At 19:52 BST, a call handler classified the incident as “category two.” An NWAS rapid response vehicle arrived at the scene at approximately 20:14, the court heard. The inquest was informed that the earliest possible arrival time could have been 20:01. Ms Lee explained that “we would have been able to mobilise specialist resources, senior clinicians and more ambulances” if the highest priority level had been allocated. However, she proceeded to state that because no ambulances were available, it was improbable that one would have reached the scene any faster. The inquest heard that valuable lessons had been learned from the incident, with NWAS staff across the northwest of England undergoing training. The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) and Lancashire Police reached the blaze before NWAS, administering CPR to the two children prior to their transportation to hospital. The inquest had previously been informed that Lorena Feraru “screamed for help” and made desperate attempts to pull her children out of a bedroom window. Firefighters searched the lower level of the property before discovering the children on the upper floor. Paul Ratcliffe stated that crews had “performed exceptionally well” under “extremely challenging conditions.” An investigation concluded that the probable cause of the fire was the use of a lighter found near a sofa downstairs. Mr Ratcliffe said: “Both parents did recount that the son had been discovered with the lighter. There were burn marks upstairs.” Several months before the fire, clothes had been set alight in the bedroom. The inquest continues.