An 86-year-old woman died after suffering severe burns in a fire at her home in Chepstow. Mercedes Waters had been tending to a fire in her Rayburn solid fuel burner on 26th October last year when she sustained the injuries, an inquest heard last Thursday (24th July). The fire service were alerted via an alarm at her home in Hardwick Avenue, but the flames were out by the time two fire engines arrived. Mrs Waters was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital for emergency treatment before being transferred to the Welsh Centre for Burns at Swansea's Morriston Hospital. There, she was taken straight to theatre but doctors decided her 64 per cent burns, combined with her age and existing medical conditions, were "non-survivable" according to assistant registrar Samuel George. Giving evidence, son Ivor Waters said his mother was registered blind and had particular trouble with colour contrasts. "She had insulin dependent diabetes and I witnessed her slip into a coma twice, both times ending up in hospital," he said. The incident led to carers visiting Mrs Waters daily, but she remained independent and would often be washed and dressed before the carers' first visit of the day, said Mr Waters. He told the Newport inquest Mrs Waters always took the job of cleaning out the Rayburn and it was "not on the list of things the carers did". "It was used for burning all sorts of household waste, including paperwork and cardboard," he said. "She was generally good at keeping the ashes scooped out. She was very aware of the dangers of fire." Mr Waters said he received a call at 6.15am on 26th October last year to say an alarm had been activated at his mother's home. "I had only spoken to my mother the previous evening. We had a nice chat and I told her I'd be down in a couple of days," he said. "I called her home number and spoke to a firefighter, who said she was alert and chatty." Later that morning he spoke to a surgeon who said Mrs Waters was being taken to Morriston. "I was driving to Chepstow to deal with the cat, who had been trapped in the back room. "I got as far as Tintern and called Morriston, and was told she had died two hours earlier. "I never did go to Morriston because there was nothing to be done. I never did get to see the body." Fire investigation officer Christian Hadfield said there had been a blockage in the Rayburn's external flue, starving the fuel of oxygen. "When she opened the door, the backdraft would have appeared as an explosion resulting in the injuries Mrs Waters suffered." Mr Waters said he thought his mother had stepped on burnt material that had fallen on the floor to put it out, setting fire to her nightdress. Assistant coroner Wendy James recorded a verdict of accidental death.