A SENIOR firefighter today issued a safety alert after an inquest heard how a man who died in a flat fire had a smoke alarm - but it had no batteries fitted.

If the alarm had been working, Frank Bernard Timney may have had a potentially life-saving early warning as smoke filled his Acomb flat, the hearing was told.

The fire that killed him was probably started by a discarded lit cigarette, which went down his sofa.

Mr Timney returned to his ground floor flat in Merton Court, off Kingsway West, at about midnight, after a night out.

Post-mortem tests revealed he had drunk at least eight pints of beer. The cause of death was smoke inhalation.

Emergency services forced entry to the locked property at about 12.30am on February 14 last year, after Mr Timney's stepson smelled smoke.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate unemployed Mr Timney outside, but he died shortly afterwards.

Assistant divisional fire officer Ian Hill, who investigated the blaze, said crews found sole occupant Mr Timney unconscious in his bedroom, fully clothed, on the floor at the end of his bed.

Mr Hill said the small flat was smoke damaged throughout as all doors were either fully or partly open. Within about 30 minutes the home would have been filled by toxic smoke - which combined with the drink may have disorientated Mr Timney - as the foam sofa material set alight, the inquest heard.

The seat of the fire appeared to be a lounge sofa, although flames did not seem to have spread outside the lounge. Investigators recovered smoking materials from the property. Mr Hill said the age of the sofa suggested it may not have contained combustion-treated foam.

Coroner Donald Coverdale recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Afterwards, Mr Hill said it was hard to tell what difference a working smoke alarm would have made in the case. But he added: "It did not have the opportunity to save his life."

The safety advice comes after the death of three little sisters in a Goole house fire last November. No smoke alarms were fitted in the house.

Check out your batteries

AS part of an ongoing campaign, the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service is fitting smoke alarms with ten-year batteries. Council homes, pensioners and low-income earners can get them fitted free, with a £10 charge for others.

York firefighters also give out leaflets with smoke alarm information in areas where they attend house fires.

They say anyone who has fitted their own alarm and cannot remember when the battery was last changed, should replace it now, make a note on their calendar, change it annually and test it regularly.

Phone York Fire Station on 01904 616100 for information.

Updated: 09:16 Saturday, March 20, 2004