Prisoner died after vape caused cell fire
Family photoA prisoner died after a vaping device caught fire in her cell, an inquest has been told.
Clare Dupree, 48, from Cardiff, died on 28 December 2022, at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, two days after a fire in her cell at HMP Eastwood Park.
The inquest at Avon Coroner's Court heard her cell was not equipped with an automatic fire detection (AFD) device, and only battery-powered smoke detectors were outside the cells.
Senior Coroner Maria Voisin was told prison staff were unable to rescue her due to the heat, and it was 35 minutes before firefighters were able to safely remove Dupree.
Members of her family gave statements to the coroner describing Dupree as "delightful and sensitive", but said she had significant mental health problems.
She suffered depression as a teenager which led to periods of substance abuse, and periods being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
In a statement read to the inquest, Dupree's sister, Rachel Taylor, said: "She would be sectioned once a year and spend time in hospital.
"Each time her life got better and she would stop taking drugs.
"In May 2022 she was sectioned to time in prison for three months after threatening a security guard with a knife, when he caught her trying to steal a pregnancy test."
"On 28 December, police told me there was an incident and Clare had been in a fire."
Pathologist Dr Russell Delaney told the inquest Dupree died from a hypoxic ischemic brain injury and a lower respiratory tract infection.
It is not clear whether earlier removal from her cell would have improved her chances of survival, he added.
The Ministry of Justice made a statement explaining that an AFD is necessary to reduce risk of harm from fires.
On 26 December Dupree's cell was not equipped with an in-cell AFD.
The inquest continues.
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