Ex-coal miner, 90, and his former factory worker wife, 84, were killed in house explosion after trying to fit new gas cylinder to portable heater, inquest hears

Published: 13:13 EDT, 7 October 2026 | Updated: 13:20 EDT, 7 October 2026 An ex-coal miner and his former factory worker wife were killed in a house explosion after they attempted to fit a new gas cylinder to a portable heater, an inquest has heard.Marlene Mumford, 84, and William Mumford, 90, both died in a fire at an address in Caerphilly, South Wales, on December 12 last year. The blaze was spotted by pub-goers at the nearby Tylers Arms, where Mr and Mrs Mumford were 'recognised and liked' by regulars, who alerted local firefighters. Upon arrival, emergency services were initially unable to enter the house due to the extent of the damage caused by the blaze and firefighters reported seeing thick, black smoke 'pumping out' of the property.Mr and Mrs Mumford were both pronounced dead at the scene. An inquest into their deaths at Gwent Coroner's Court on Wednesday heard the fire was likely to have ignited while Mr Mumford was fitting a new gas cylinder to a heater they regularly used.Assistant coroner Sarah Le Fevre said it was believed Mr Mumford had attempted to carry the cylinder out of the home in an effort to remove the fire, but that this had only caused the flames to spread. The coroner said: 'This is a fire that ignited in the parlour, the back room of the property, likely in the process of fitting that new cylinder to the portable heater. Marlene Mumford, 84, and William Mumford, 90, both died in a fire at an address in Caerphilly, South Wales, on December 12 last year Emergency services struggled to get into the house as the fire raged on and had badly damaged the structure'What is possible is that William realised that the fire had taken, that he realised he was unable to close the cylinder or control the fire, and therefore thought, utterly understandably, that the best course would be to try and remove the fire from the house.''The fire started accidentally resulting from a mechanical or connection-related failure of a portable gas heater and gas bottle resulting in an uncontrolled gas release,' she added.The coroner added it was likely that Mr Mumford had 'utterly unintentionally' spread the fire through other rooms of the property while trying to remove the cylinder.Mr and Mrs Mumford's causes of death were both recorded as resulting from exposure to the combustion products of fire.The inquest concluded their deaths were accidental.