Finding into death of Ashleigh Peter Mills

Contributing factors

• Discarded/improperly extinguished cigarette
• Unsafe smoking practices
• Alcohol use
• Hoarding and squalor at CIRS level 6
• Blocked rear exit due to clutter
• Deadlocked front door with no key
• Smoke alarm not serviced since 2009
• Cluttered living environment providing fuel for fire
• Gas wall heater potentially assisting fire spread

Coroner's recommendations

1. Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to consider reconvening the Hoarding and Squalor Taskforce to promote best practice and inter-agency responses
2. Update and reissue the 2013 publication 'Hoarding and squalor: a practical resource for service providers'
3. Victorian Government to consult with Fire Rescue Victoria and Country Fire Authority to introduce improvements to smoke alarm requirements within Victorian Building Regulations
4. Introduce an auditable regulatory compliance inspection process for domestic smoke alarms as part of residential property sales
5. Victorian Building Authority to publish guidance clarifying who can design, install and certify home fire sprinklers to FPAA101D specification
6. Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to work with Victorian water authorities to develop policies streamlining approval for water meters meeting sprinkler requirements
7. Department of Transport and Planning and Australian Building Codes Board to conduct research into adopting home fire sprinklers to FPAA101D specification within National Construction Code
8. Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to consider including fire/burn risk warnings on cigarette packaging