Girl, 10, was ‘awake’ throughout horror caravan fireplace as dad and daughter burned alive
An inquest has revealed the heartbreaking details of the final moments before a father and his 10-year-old daughter tragically died in a caravan fire at a holiday park.
The 48-year-old man and his daughter lost their lives in a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park off Roman Bank in Lincolnshire in April. The fatal caravan fire has now been ruled as “accidental, undetermined” by the coroner.
Lee Baker and his daughter Esme, from Retford, were on holiday in Ingoldmells when a fire erupted in their caravan around 3am on Saturday, April 5. Emergency services were alerted to the incident just before 4am. Police and Fire and Rescue investigators worked through the night to determine the cause of the fire and identify the victims, reports LincsLive.
The devastating news shocked locals, with friends and family paying tribute to Lee, who was described as a “great father”. The inquests into their deaths, which were previously opened at Lincoln Coroner’s Court, heard that Lee had purchased the caravan in November 2024, and the pair had spent several recent weekends there together, with many more planned for the summer.
Coroner Lindsey Tasker stated at today’s reopened inquest at Myles Cross Centre: “though the inquests are being held together, they are both separate inquests and each will have its own conclusion.”
The inquest heard that a toxicology report by Dr Steven Morley found that Lee had an alcohol level of 172mg per 100ml of blood, compared to the legal driving limit of 80mg. However, it was noted in court that Lee did not seem intoxicated at the time.
Post-mortem reports were completed by Dr Michael Biggs, who determined that both Lee and Esme died from inhalation of the products of combustion. Reading from his conclusion, Coroner Tasker stated: “Esme was sadly awake and breathing while exposed to a fire environment but she would have been rapidly overcome.”
Simon Cartwright of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, the fire investigation officer for the incident, said the fire was accidental but a cause could not be determined due to there being two possibilities.
He said that the caravan was “severely damaged” but the point of origin was at the rear, stating “due to the extent of the fire damage it was not possible to make a definite determination.”
The investigation found that the fire could have been started by a malfunction of a personal electronic device, such as the tablet found in the search area of Esme’s room. This had part of a charging cable connected to it, but it is unclear if it had been connected to a power mains or not.
A mobile phone was also found in the same area, but most of the furniture and belongings had been “consumed” by the blaze, which reached over 400C.
Mr Cartwright stated that while there was no evidence of smoking materials causing the fire, the intensity of the blaze could have obliterated such evidence.
Detective Inspector Kara Nicholson of Lincolnshire Police confirmed that investigations had ruled out the possibility of the fire being deliberate or involving a third party. It was also established that there were no electrical or gas faults in the caravan, and nothing was being cooked at the time.
