A CORONER has spoken out about fire safety after a man died in a flat where the smoke alarm had no batteries fitted.

Vishnudut Bodha died a week after the Christmas Eve blaze at his flat in Church Road in Southbourne.

An examination of his first-floor property revealed batteries had been removed from the safety device and Assistant Dorset coroner Brendan Allen said it could have saved his life if it had been in working order.

“It is all very well having a smoke alarm in the home but if it doesn’t have a functioning battery it had might as well not be there in the first place” he said.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Allen added: “It may have notified Mr Bodha of the fire and may have saved his life.”

The Bournemouth inquest heard that emergency services were alerted just before 11pm on Christmas Eve and found Mr Bodha, 67, unconscious on the sofa in the lounge/kitchen area.

The flat was filled with smoke and there was fire damage to an electric hob in the kitchen area.

Paramedics gave Mr Bodha CPR at the scene and he was rushed to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital where he was treated in the intensive care unit. He had suffered a cardiac arrest and died a week later on New Year’s Eve from multi-system organ failure due to the inhalation of fire fumes.

The inquest heard that Mr Bodha, who was born in Mauritius, was a retired nurse who lived alone. He was married with two children and a grandchild.

In a statement to the court, his wife, Anita, said he was well-liked and added: “He was a funny man who always had a story to tell.”

The inquest heard Mr Bodha had been in poor health in the weeks leading up to his death and had started hoarding items in his flat.

He appeared to have been regularly sleeping on the sofa.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service recommends there should be at least one working smoke alarm on each level of a home, ideally on the ceiling. They should be tested every month.