Overview
- Emergency services responded to a blaze at around 3:30 a.m. on December 25 on the Leeds–Liverpool Canal near Crooke Marina in Wigan, with firefighters on scene for roughly 13 hours.
- The victims were named as 43-year-old Gabriel (Philip) Murphy and his service dog, Hugo, who lived on the boat together.
- Murphy served in the Army’s Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers with a tour in Iraq and later worked as a North West Ambulance Service paramedic, with Hugo supporting his PTSD.
- Greater Manchester Police have described the fire as non-suspicious, and the case has been referred to the coroner for an inquest.
- Murphy’s daughter, Juliette, has launched a fundraiser for funeral costs and says a charity cremated and disposed of Hugo’s ashes, preventing the pair from being laid to rest together.