Frantic efforts to save the lives of three young children who died after their father's car caught fire outside their home at Dunsink Drive, Finglas, on December 27th last, were described to Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday. Amber (5), Megan (4) and Ryan (2 1/2) Quinn were dead on arrival at Temple Street Children's Hospital.
They had been due to go on a birthday outing with their father when the car caught fire. Minutes before the tragedy the children had been seen in the car by neighbours and all seemed well.
After two expert witnesses gave contradictory causes for the fire, the inquest was adjourned to September 4th. The children's mother, Ms Lorraine Quinn, said their father, her former partner, Mr John Harrison, had access to the children on alternate Saturdays and Sundays under a separation agreement. It was Megan's birthday, and he arrived to take the children out. They talked for a while and he asked her nephew, Andrew Marsden, to put the children in his car, which was parked outside. As they talked a person called to the door to tell them the car was on fire. Ms Quinn said thick, black smoke was coming from the car and when Mr Harrison opened a door she saw the flames start. The flames appeared to be coming from under the dashboard. She ran to call the fire brigade.
Mr Harrison said when he called to collect the children he spoke with their mother about dropping them back. She was getting their clothes ready. He asked her nephew to put them into the car and gave him the keys, even though the driver's door was unlocked. When a man called and informed him of the fire, he rushed to the car. "There was thick black smoke coming from the car but I could see no flames in the car. Then there were flames coming from under the bonnet and the wheel arch," he said.
Mr Harrison said that when he opened the door of the car the whole front went up in flames. He tried to reach the children but was beaten back by the smoke and flames, and he was restrained by people at the scene. He said the key of the Toyota Corolla van was partially broken. A mobile phone charger was left plugged into the cigarette-lighter socket, and there were fluffy, leopard-skin print seat covers on the two seats. Except for the fitting and removal of a two-way radio, the car was as he bought it and he had not modified it in any way. Mr Andrew Marsdan said he put the children in the car, chatted with a friend and went back inside the house. When the alarm was raised he saw smoke but not much flames. Mr Harrison was hysterical during the rescue attempt.
Mr Paul McDermott, who raised the alarm, said the children's father tried to get into the car to save them but was driven back by the smoke and flames, and was physically held by people on the street. Det Garda Eugene Gilligan, a scenes examiner, said in a deposition that he examined the car, which was severely damaged. He found no evidence of smokers' materials or incendiary devices. The cigarette lighter had been modified to charge cellular phones, and he believed an electrical fault in that area caused the fire.
Mr John Butler, an engineer and expert on car fire, said when he examined the car he found a disposable cigarette lighter in the back. He placed the origin of the fire at the front passenger seat. He said the time factor was against it being an electrical fire, but he added that he had not been able to examine the dashboard section, which had been removed by the gardai. Because of the conflict of evidence, the Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, adjourned the inquest to September 4th to allow Det Garda Gilligan to give oral evidence and for Mr Butler to carry out further investigations on the car.