A HOUSE fire that claimed the life of a 42-year-old Netherton man was probably caused by a discarded cigarette, an inquest heard.

Gary Gooding died after a fire broke out at his Blackbrook Road home on December 1 last year.

Emergency services rushed to the mid-terraced house after receiving a 999 call at 6.09am.

A neighbour had raised the alarm after smelling smoke and spotting the blackened windows.

The inquest, held at Black Country Coroners Court, sitting in Oldbury, heard that when firefighters found Mr Gooding, who was lying on the sofa in the living room, he was in cardiac arrest.

Despite resuscitation attempts, Mr Gooding, who worked as a maintenance technician for his family's business, EasyGates Ltd, based in James Scott Road, Cradley, was confirmed dead at the scene.

Fire investigation officer, Leigh Richards, told today’s inquest that there were three possible causes for the fire.

After scouring the scene, he found a carrier bag of discarded cigarettes that had been burned to the filter; lithium fuel cells that had been “violently ejected” from a spare battery pack for a cordless drill and an unplugged orbital sander with a dust bag.

He said the blaze could have been caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette, an exploding lithium battery pack or due to self-heating within a dust collection bag from a sander.

However he said “on the balance of probabilities” he believed the source of ignition was a cigarette.

Black Country coroner Zafar Siddique said the medical cause of Mr Gooding’s death was smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning and concluded his death had been accidental.