Firefighter found dead in bed by horrified wife after drinking session with colleagues

A firefighter who was found dead at home by his wife had overdosed on after spending an afternoon drinking with his friends, an has heard.

Francois "Frankie" Childs died after returning to his home in Prestwich, Bury, on September 2 after an afternoon with his friends and taking the Class A "in the presence of his wife". Mr Childs, 44, was found "rigid" by his wife after she woke up during the night, and she called an ambulance to the property.

Paramedics were unable to revive him, however, and he was declared dead on September 3, with police coroners' officer Berndatte Hatton giving his cause of death as "-associated toxicity". The court heard that Mr Childs had a storied career before his death, having served in the armed forces and as a banker before he joined the fire service.

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The firefighter served under Greater Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) at Broughton Community Fire Station, having joined the organisation in 2018, reports. He was previously an Army reservist with the machine gun platoon of the Bury Fusiliers before embarking on his career in banking.

GMFRS opened an online book of condolence for the late firefighter in September, with people asked to leave messages for Mr Childs, who leaves behind his wife, two children, parents and three brothers. Sarah Nattrass, Assistant Chief Fire Officer and Director of Service Delivery at GMFRS, said Mr Childs would be "sadly missed by all his friends and colleagues".

She said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the sudden death of one of our colleagues and share our heartfelt condolences with Frankie’s family, friends and colleagues. Frankie was part of our GMFRS family for more than six years as a much-loved member of Green Watch, Broughton, and he will be very sadly missed by all his friends and colleagues."

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) released its own statement honouring the firefighter, remembering him as a staunch supporter of refugee charity Care 4 Calais. A union spokesperson said: "Frankie was one of 12 FBU members who volunteered their time to travel to France to support the Care 4 Calais Charity in November of 2023.

"Care 4 Calais supports the thousands of refugees and people seeking asylum across the UK and northern France. They offer their time to collect and distribute essential items and provide social support, and to help in many other different ways, from replying to messages, to fundraising and admin.

"The charity could not provide this support without dedicated and caring people like Frankie. His support will not be forgotten by the FBU or by the many people his efforts undoubtedly helped contributed to making refugees lives better."

Assistant coroner Michael Salt adjourned the inquest with a date for a further hearing to be decided.