Gas fumes puzzle of flats death couple

Latvian couple Ilva Zvirskija, 39, and Uldis Stepe, 37, were found by fire crews in a top-floor rented flat of a property in Cecil Avenue, Bradford, in January 2009.

Both were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes but investigators could not determine the exact source of the lethal gas, an inquest heard yesterday.

Health and safety experts found a poorly maintained boiler in the flat which could have produced a large amount of carbon monoxide.

They also discovered poorly maintained and dangerous gas appliances in other parts of the property, which had been converted into nine flats.

But because the faulty boiler was damaged in a kitchen fire it was not possible to say if it was leaking fumes.

The inquest in Bradford heard that the kitchen fire was probably caused during preparatory work to repairs to the property’s flat roof.

Two days before the fatal fire an unnamed person had used a gas blowtorch to melt ice on the roof to prevent workmen slipping.

Fire investigators believe this had caused a small fire which had smouldered for some time before it burst into flames and penetrated the couple’s flat.

The HSE investigated both the work on the roof and the faulty gas appliances and is considering bringing charges over safety lapses.

HSE officer David Green said: “We are still looking at the landlord’s duties, this strays into potentially criminal areas.”

He said there were no safety certificates for the gas appliances and a British Gas engineer had declared that the boiler would have represented a threat to life.

The central heating boiler was said to be “choked with soot” and other appliances were found to be poorly installed and maintained.

Deputy coroner Paul Marks said there were competing explanations for the source of the toxic gas but the more likely cause was the fire which had spread following work on the roof.

He recorded verdicts of accidental death.