Mitchell's Tragedy: Uncovered Housing Flaws

0:00In Adelaide, it's February 27th. Here's what is happening. A northern territory corner has wrapped up the inquest into the death of three-year-old Mitchell Thomas, who died from smoke inhalation in the house. Fire at public housing in Alice Springs, back in 2023. The fire started from electrical arcing in the roof due to degraded wiring insulation, possibly from damage or rodents. On June 1st that year, Mitchell was with his 16-year-old uncle at the home in Larapinta when the blaze broke out. Neighbors freed the uncle, but police and firefighters could not save the boy, who was found unresponsive in a bedroom. Earlier this week, evidence showed major maintenance lapses by the housing department, including a smoke detector in the home that had not been. Replace since the family moved in around 2010, despite its 10-year lifespan. An audit after the fire found 21% of checked public housing had expired detectors, plus widespread wiring and earthing faults that could spark fires or shocks. Officials admitted

1:01poor record keeping and no checks on safety features at the time. The department has since started tracking detector dates, training staff, adding inspections during repairs, and planning more audits in remote areas this year. Mitchell's family hopes the findings lead to real changes so no one else suffers their loss. The Daily News now is grateful to our sponsor for today's episode. When you want calm, do not reach for your phone. Lay back and listen, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-P-Lo dot com.