It has been revealed that a cigarette lighter was the source of a fatal house fire that killed three children in Paisley almost two years ago.
A fire service report into the accident has found the source was a cigarette lighter that set bedding on fire.
Fiona Gibson, 12, and her brothers Alexander, eight, and Philip, five, died at their Gallowhill flat on Friday, June 19, 2020.
Their mum, Julie Daley, was injured in the fire but survived. The children’s dad, Alex Gibson was out at a nearby Tesco and returned home to find the flat in flames.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service incident report said that all three children died after being overcome by smoke.
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The report estimated that the fire had been going for between five and 30 minutes before being discovered.
Five fire engines attended the incident, with the first arriving after five minutes.
Police Scotland said at the time that they were not treating the fire as suspicious.
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of Paisley as the three children were laid to rest three weeks later.
At the family’s request, locals dressed in bright colours and clapped quietly as the cortege made its way past St Catherine’s Primary School, where the two boys were pupils.
Teachers and support staff - who described the boys as being full of energy - sobbed as they formed a guard of honour outside the school gates.
Many of their classmates had turned out in bright clothing and, together with their parents, softly clapped in a show of love for the children on route to their final resting place.
The cortege, which included a large floral rainbow with the children’s names on it, later made its way back onto Renfrew Road and passed Mary Russell School, where Fiona attended, before finally arriving at Hawkhead Cemetery.
A JustGiving page set up by a family friend at the time of the accident raised more than £33,000 for Julie and Alex.
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