Three years after two of her children were听killed in a house fire, a coroner has ruled the blaze was started after a sheet adjacent to a fan heater caught fire.听贬别谤补濒诲听senior crime reporter Sam Sherwood reports on a mother鈥檚 unfathomable loss.听
The eldest of her four children, 8-year-old Brayden, had just gone to bed when her youngest, 8-month-old Arianna woke from a nap.听
It was about 9pm on July 14, 2020, and Nicole Mulligan gave her daughter some dinner before handing her over to her partner Desmond Cooke.听
About 9.45pm she left to head to the supermarket. About an hour later emergency services were听called to a house fire听at the family鈥檚 home.听
When Mulligan arrived home she saw the smoke, then her home, and then came the devastating news that Brayden and Arianna were dead.听
More than three years on a coroner has ruled the fire was the result of a sheet adjacent to a fan heater catching fire.听
In an interview with the听Herald, Mulligan says she鈥檚 still struggling with what happened that night.听
鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to wrap my head around it. I don鈥檛 know if I ever will.鈥听
Nicole Mulligan and her daughter Arianna. Arianna was killed in a house fire in Christchurch in July 2020.听
鈥楾he flames were too powerful鈥听
Mulligan and Cooke moved into the Vivian St rental home in September 2019.听
The house had three rooms. Mulligan, Cooke, and Arianna slept in the main bedroom with the baby鈥檚 bassinet near the foot of her parents鈥 bed. The 2-year-old had her own room and the boys shared a room.听
The coroner鈥檚 report says social workers who visited Mulligan鈥檚 homes over the years had noted they were cluttered. However, when a social worker visited in June 2020 the house was clean and tidy.听
Mulligan told police that due to a lack of storage, Cooke kept his clothes in a suitcase. She occasionally kept her clothes on the floor because she could not put them away when Arianna was sleeping.听
The house had a photoelectric smoke alarm installed in the hallway. However, after an inspection on December 6, 2019, the property manager recorded that the alarm in the hallway was missing. Mulligan confirmed to the property manager she had removed the alarm and would replace the battery. During a re-inspection two weeks later the alarm was inspected and tested.听
Nicole Mulligan has a cabinet in her home where she keeps her children鈥檚 ashes, along with some of their belongings that were spared from fire damage.听
After Mulligan went to the supermarket Cooke gave Arianna a bottle and put her into bed, turning the fan heater on because the room was cold. He then watched TV in the lounge.听
About half an hour later he smelt smoke and heard the smoke alarms.听
鈥淗e jumped up and raced down the hallway, where he could see flames coming from the main bedroom. The smoke and the flames were too powerful to allow him to enter,鈥 the coroner said.听
Cooke then went to the boys鈥 room and woke them before going to the 2-year-old鈥檚 room to grab her.听
鈥淲hen Cooke got outside he realised that Brayden was still inside, and he tried to go back in to rescue him and Arianna. Cooke had to be pulled back from the fire by neighbours. He was screaming about needing to get his children.鈥听
A firefighter said the entrance to the house was filled with smoke and visibility was 鈥渮ero鈥. He had to use his hands to feel around.听
The firefighters found Brayden lying on the floor of the toilet and carried him outside. Arianna was found near the bedroom door by a metal frame.听
Arianna and Brayden died in a house fire in Christchurch in July 2020.听
Mulligan then arrived at the scene.听
鈥淚 saw the fire and I just kept hoping that it wasn鈥檛 my house.听
鈥淚 spoke to a police officer about trying to get through to my house and then I saw a picture of me on their phone and I knew straight away.鈥听
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) specialist fire investigator Jason Hobbs provided a report to the coroner on the fire.听
Behind the fan heater in the bedroom were parts of a fitted bed sheet melted into the base of the back of the heater. There was no evidence to suggest there was a fault with the heater.听
He concluded that the point of origin of the fire was the fan heater, with its element overheating due to a 鈥減artial blockage鈥 of the air intake, which led to the sheet being ignited.听
He found a smoke alarm had been mounted over the door in the boys鈥 bedroom and that it had likely been activated. Another smoke alarm was mounted on the ceiling in the 2-year-old鈥檚 room.听
There were no smoke alarms in the main bedroom, nor did he find one in the hallway.听
Coroner Cunninghame referred to Fenz safety tips for use of electric oil and fan heaters, including ensuring heaters have at least a metre of clear space surrounding them while in use. Clothing and other items were not to be left to dry on top of heaters.听
Mulligan and Cooke needed the fan heater to keep their baby warm as she slept, the coroner said.听
鈥淚t is possible that Cooke did not notice the sheet when he turned the heater on, and it is also possible that the sheet fell from the dresser after he had left the room. Either way, the closeness of the sheet to the heater has had terrible consequences.鈥听
The coroner said the children鈥檚 deaths showed why heaters must not be used in cramped or cluttered spaces.听
鈥楾here鈥檚 nothing you can do鈥听
Brayden鈥檚 father, Shaun Gibson, told the听Herald听the last three years had been 鈥渢urmoil鈥.听
鈥淢y own personal journey over these years since my son passed has been an uphill battle. I have had to personally fight against my mental health demons, and having to go through what no parent ever should. Trying to survive the raw feelings, dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the despair of losing a child.鈥听
He described Brayden as a 鈥渂eautiful person鈥, who always wanted to be around people.听
鈥淲hether this was a random person, his friends or family. However, he was very strong-willed, always funny in his own quirky way. He was just the purest soul. He had so much love to give for everyone around him.鈥听
Mulligan thinks about the night of her children鈥檚 death daily.听
鈥淚 don鈥檛 sleep 鈥 鈥 she says.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 been three years and I still haven鈥檛 come to terms with it. I go to counselling every Monday and it just doesn鈥檛 work. There鈥檚 nothing you can do for it to work.鈥听
She fondly describes Brayden as a 鈥渇riendly鈥 boy who was able to make friends wherever he went.听
鈥淎rianna was always happy. She never cried, even when waking up. They were both always happy and loving.鈥听
In her home she has a cabinet with her children鈥檚 ashes, along with some of their belongings that were spared from fire damage, such as a teddy bear she was going to give Arianna for her first birthday, a 鈥淏aby on board鈥 sign and some toys, including Brayden鈥檚 Tamagotchi. Every year they still have birthdays for the pair, with Mulligan keeping the candles.听
At the top of the cabinet is artwork with the letters B and A with a love heart in the middle.听
Mulligan says the pain she feels today is the same as when she heard her children were dead. She recounts a recurring dream she has about her children.听
鈥淚 dream they鈥檙e still alive and that they didn鈥檛 actually die. I feel relief in that, I dream that I鈥檓 searching for Brayden and then when I finally find him I squeeze him tight and tell him I love him and miss him and start crying.听
鈥淭hen it takes that one memory to remember he actually did die and then I mourn all over again and wake up with real tears.鈥听
Sam Sherwood听is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the听Herald听in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.听
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