Husband of barrister who died saving her children in glampsite fire sues over tragedy

The husband of a solicitor killed while helping his children escape a tragic fire at a glamping site is suing for more than £200,000 over her death.

Ruth Pingree, 42, died during a family holiday at Suffolk glampsite Happy Days Retro Vacations in July 2022 when the vintage Airsteam caravan in which she, her husband Roland and their two children were staying, burst into flames in the early morning hours.

Ms Pingree, a criminal lawyer who was praised as a “wonderful person” who “draws you in with her smile, her laughter, her heart, her vulnerability and her brilliant mind”, died in the fire, which a coroner found may have been started by stray campfire coals or a cigarette butt outside the caravan, which was surrounded by an area of ​​”flammable” plastic astroturf.

Now his widow, Roland Pingree, is suing on behalf of the family and as administrator of their estate, seeking more than £200,000 in damages from the company that runs Happy Days Retro Vacations Limited, based on a farm near Saxmundham.

Mr Pingree claims the smoke alarm in the caravan was faulty and did not go off, costing him vital seconds that could have saved his wife’s life.

However, the glamping company’s lawyers deny that the alarm was faulty.

Documents lodged at London’s High Court also claim Ms Pingree was in an “intoxicated state” at the time of the fatal fire, which “may have significantly impaired her judgment, reactions and actions” after “drinking throughout the day and evening before the incident”.

The inquest into Ms Pingree’s death, held by Suffolk coroner Darren Stewart in April last year, heard the family had traveled from their home in Thames Ditton, Surrey, to stay with other families in July 2022.

The trailer the family was staying in had a smoke and carbon monoxide detector in the kitchen area, as well as a fire blanket and a small fire extinguisher.

During the evening hours on July 23, they socialized with friends around the fire pit and some of the adults smoked cigarettes.

The owner of the site conducted a security check around 12:30 p.m., an hour after the last person left the fire pit.

The inquest said there were “a few glowing embers” in the pit at the time and the weather was “extraordinarily dry” and windy, with higher than average temperatures for the year.

The coroner found on inspection that a fire started outside one end of the caravan between 4.30am, first being caught outside and then spreading inside, heating the outer aluminum cladding of the caravan and causing the door frame to jam shut.

Mr Pingree was awakened by the couple’s children and warned of the fire, and was forced to open a window as the caravan “quickly filled with acrid dark smoke”.

With Mr. Pingree outside and Mrs. Pingree still inside, they helped the children escape before Mrs. Pingree was tragically overwhelmed by the flames and smoke.

The coroner said of the deceased lawyer: “Ruth Ann Pingree was described by her family as a wonderful person. Someone with a smile, a laugh, a heart, a vulnerability and a brilliant mind that had a quality that draws you in.”

“He was a person who made you feel loved, valued and appreciated. A one in a million person. A person who was always there for his family and friends and was devoted to his children.”

Mr Pingree is now suing Happy Days Retro Vacations Limited on behalf of his family on behalf of his wife’s estate, claiming more than £200,000 “for fatal injury, loss and damage suffered by the deceased… under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976”.

She is also making personal injury claims on behalf of herself and the couple’s children.

As well as claiming the smoke alarm was faulty, it claims the risk assessment at the glamp site was “inadequate” and that no safety assessment had been carried out regarding the flammability of the awning, artificial turf and the interior of the caravan.

In the company’s submission to the court, attorney Joel Kendall says: “The defendant accepts that it has a duty to exercise due care in all reasonable circumstances of the case to ensure that the plaintiffs are reasonably safe in their use of the premises.”

But he denies all charges relating to Ms Pingree’s death, continuing: “It is denied that the risk assessment was wholly inadequate or non-existent as alleged. On the contrary, the assessment was appropriate and adequate compared to relevant government guidance and was proportionate to the size and nature of the defendant’s estate.”

“In fact, it is accepted that there was no formal assessment of the flammability of the awning, artificial turf and materials inside the trailer. “It is accepted that, given the size and nature of the defendant’s property, such an assessment was not reasonably required.

“There was a central fire pit surrounded by bricks, away from the caravans to prevent the fire from spreading.

“The central fire pit was approximately 11.5 meters from the right post of the awning.

“The cause of the fire was a corsa from the fire pit… the small fire was lit where the central fire pit was located.

“Although artificial grass is flammable like natural grass, there was sand under the artificial grass area.

“The flooring inside the trailer was fire resistant.

“It is not accepted that the smoke detector was not working. The defendant states that Mr. Pingree was wearing earplugs at the time of the incident.

“In fact, the smoke detector was checked for working order three to four days before the plaintiffs and deceased arrived at the defendant’s property as part of the plaintiff’s transition routine between occupations. “The detector had only been purchased and installed in April 2021. In any event, it was checked monthly.

“It is not accepted that the detector does not make a sound during the fire.

“If the fire alarm did not work (it is not accepted), it is not accepted that it would have happened ‘significantly sooner’ if it had worked.” [one of the children] He allegedly set off the alarm so there would be more time for escape.

“There were at least five windows that were solid and of suitable size to enable escape if the door could not be used, one of which was actually used by the plaintiffs.

“The plaintiffs are presented with evidence regarding the deceased’s movements and actions, particularly in light of his intoxicated state. The defendant states that the deceased and Mr. Pingree had been drinking throughout the day and evening before the incident and that the deceased’s blood alcohol level on autopsy examination was 200 mg/100 ml.”

“Such ‘significant levels of alcohol’ would have significantly impaired the deceased’s judgment, reactions and movements.

“Such intoxication means that significantly increased sound pressure is required to wake a person from their sleep.”

The glamp site at Wardspring Farm in Leiston Road, Saxmundham, where Miss Pingree died has since been permanently closed.

Unless a prior agreement is reached, the case will be presented to the court for a preliminary hearing at a later date.