A YOUNG teaching assistant who perished in a barge inferno could have lived had the canal boat been fitted with a smoke alarm available free of charge from the fire service.

Government investigators, who probed the tragedy that shocked the close-knit boating community at Lyme View Marina in Adlington during the early hours of January 20 this year, concluded that the death of Samantha Trafford, 22, could have been prevented had a detector been installed aboard the Lindy Lou barge.

As a result of the fatal fire, it was revealed this week, major boat manufacturer, Triton, who built the boat, now routinely fit alarms in every new craft launched and have improved their central heating systems.

And the installation of the simple safety device may soon become a standard requirement universally amongst bargers.

Fire officers have carried out 250 boat fire safety checks on Macclesfield waterways since Samantha’s death and Cheshire Fire and Rescue have conducted a large scale training initiative among local boaters drumming home the hazards of fire on board vessels.

Other measures have also been implemented to improve canal boat safety.

Samantha died after the stove overheated and flames swiftly engulfed and gutted the narrow boat in which she lay sleeping.

Her boyfriend Heaton Chapel joiner Craig Burns, who owned the barge – the 30ft Lindy Lou – escaped the blaze with face and hand burns but he could not save her.

The boat went up like a tinderbox and was a burnt out shell within ten minutes and fire crews, who pulled Samantha’s body from the charred wreckage, speedily doused propane cylinders to avoid an explosion.

The local close-knit boating community this week welcomed new safety measures which were triggered as a result of a moving plea by the girl’s father at his daughter’s inquest to "cut through red tape" – sentiments endorsed by Cheshire Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg who called for an inquiry.

The hearing revealed that although the narrow boat was only 18 months old and had passed all its safety checks.

A post mortem report concluded that Samantha, of Tarporley Close, Stockport, died of carbon monoxide and smoke inhalation. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.

Samantha’s father’s plea was backed by Cheshire Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg, who wrote to both British Standards and the Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) – a branch of the Department for Transport –- urging them to improve safety on barges.

Their subsequent probe concluded that Samantha could have survived the blaze had an alarm been in place on the boat at the time.

Earlier her father, Paul Trafford, said: "They need to get rid of red tape. A four year safety check needs to be done and smoke detectors need to be fitted as standard. For Samantha it’s too late, but these regulations need to be put in place."

Triton Boat Fitters, who built Lindy Lou, now install smoke alarms on ALL their new boats, and they have replaced the plywood, used as the tile-facing material in their stove hearths, with a fire barrier material.

They now install oil fired central heating – a safer alternative – to replace solid fuel stoves.

Safety guidelines state that one suitable and effective smoke alarm should be fitted in boats with overnight accommodation and next month the British Standards Institution will consider making the fitting of smoke alarms on barges a standard requirement.

At the inquest Craig Burns, a Heaton Chapel joiner, told how he had stoked the fire before the couple went to the nearby Miners Arms, in Adlington. They returned at 10.30pm,had a few more drinks and went to bed at midnight.

He was awoken in the early hours of Saturday morning by the intense heat of the blaze.

Mr Burns, 39, said: "I noticed that something was glowing at the other end of the boat. The windows started to explode."

He said he banged on the side of the boat, and shouted for Sam, but couldn’t hear anything, and then ran to a neighbouring boat who called the emergency services.


* To book in a free fire safety assessment of your house, flat, or boat, by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, call 0800 3890053.