A man who managed to crawl out of a burning nightclub after falling asleep in a DJ booth was engulfed in flames when he escaped on his hands and knees.
Builder Tomas Ceida, 28, had been working at Studio 338 in Greenwich, south east London, when a fire broke out back in 2016, an inquest into his death heard.
It is believed the Lithuanian-born builder had been working late and fell asleep in the booth at Studio 388, eventually leading to Tomas being trapped by the blaze around 11.45am on August 8.
READ MORE: Studio 338 fire: First picture of man who died from severe burns in tragic nightclub blaze
The inquest at Southwark Coroner’s Court heard the 28-year-old builder was the only fatality in the blaze which was tackled by more than 100 firefighters.
(Image: Daddy’s got Sweets)
Tomas suffered full thickness burns on 75% of his body and died in hospital a day later.
Investigations into the fire showed CCTV footage of a “shower of hot sparks” falling onto a “soundproof wall” made of a timber frame and stuffed with bales of straw, as well as coated in a layer of “fake vegetation”.
Matthew Cullen, representing the fire investigations team at the London Fire Brigade, said the CCTV footage showed “two people on the roof doing works that generated a lot of sparks during the course of the morning.
“They were working above the area where we saw the fire start.
(Image: Facebook/lalalalalalalalalalalila)
“We know from experience that sparks generated by hot works, whether it be by disc cutting or oxyacetylene work, are very adept at starting a fire particularly where the wall is constructed of something like straw.”
Police arrested a number of on-site labourers on suspicion of arson, but all were released without charge.
Studio 338 paid tribute to Tomas at the time, with a statement reading: “Tomas fought for as long as he could given the extent of his injuries. He was as strong as an ox but it was too much even for him.
“We are all so devastated to lose him like this. Everything we do from now on is for you, our brother.”
The inquest continues.
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