A beloved grandfather died after residue from medicated moisturiser on his clothing is believed to have caused his pyjamas to burn intensely when he lit a gas fire.
Fire investigators believe James ‘Jim’ Rownsley tried to warm himself up by lighting his gas fire after being outside in the cold.
But a spark is thought to have ignited the 89-year-old’s pyjamas, which had become contaminated with residue from emollient creams he used daily to treat a chronic skin condition on his legs.
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His devastated granddaughter, Sherrie-Leigh Higgins, 27, said investigators told the family Jim was thought to have sat down before attempting to get back to his feet to extinguish the flames.
But because his clothing and fabric sofa had absorbed residue from the creams, the fire spread with devastating speed.
“When I found out that the moisturiser had caused it, I felt sick to my stomach, more so because you don’t expect something like this would have caused the damage it did,” Sherrie-Leigh, from Mexborough, South Yorkshire, told Need To Know.
“My grandad had woken up early as he was having a new recliner chair delivered.
“He’d gone outside to move his car to make room for the delivery drivers.
“He was caught on his door bell entering the house and filling his kettle up, and then the door closed.
“It was a spark from the fire that had caught on to his pyjamas.
“From his security alarms, the timing from him entering his home to them being alerted there was a power cut was no less than 8 minutes.
“There was a power cut because the fire had burnt through the wires.”
The former police constable and refuse manager’s step-son arrived later that morning with a key to help bring in the new chair.
He discovered what had happened and called the emergency services.
The blaze had already burned itself out by the time firefighters arrived.
GP receptionist Sherrie-Leigh said: “The fire had only damaged one room, except from smoke damage and from the outside of his property, you couldn’t tell anything was out of the ordinary.”
Jim was taken to hospital but later died from severe burns.
For Sherrie-Leigh, the tragedy in February 2025 became even more surreal because she first learned something was wrong while working at her grandfather’s GP surgery.
She received a call from a paramedic who began giving her details about a patient which she realised was her grandad.
Sherrie said: “This paramedic gave me all information on the patient and then I had realised it was my grandad they were talking about.
“My colleague had to drive me home and she broke the news to my mum.
“We were absolutely shocked and devastated.”
The family were never able to see Jim after his death because of the severity of his injuries.
Sherrie said: “He was that badly burnt the funeral director had advised the coffin couldn’t be opened due to the sight and smell.”
Jim, who would have celebrated his 90th birthday shortly after his death, had been looking forward to marking the milestone with loved ones.
Sherrie said: “He was planning his 90th Birthday so he spoke about that often, instead we had his funeral on his 90th birthday.
“I miss his jokey-ness and him winding me up about the silliest of things.
“His biscuit tin was constantly full.
“We even put a cup of tea and biscuits on his coffin.
“He was a stern but lovable man.
“He’d served in the army and police force before becoming a refuse manager, so he was very regimented in his ways but had the time of day for anyone who’d stop and talk to him, especially if a cup of tea and biscuits were involved.”
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