The inquest in Omagh into the deaths of seven people in a house fire two years ago has been told that Arthur McElhill had attempted suicide in 1988 when he drove a car into a wall.
Mr McElhill, his partner Lorraine McGovern and their five children died in the fire at Lammy Crescent in November 2007.
General Practitioner Dr Michelle Mellotte said she had prescribed antidepressants for Mr McElhill, but he did not always take them.
She said two months before the fire he had complained of feeling down and overweight, and told her he was tired of his wife's shouting in the house.
Dr Mellotte told the court she had asked Mr McElhill questions designed to find out if he was suicidal or homicidal, but his answers raised no concerns.
There was also evidence on behalf of the McElhill family which suggested that an intruder could have broken into the house and started the fire.
When the inquest opened yesterday, forensic investigators said the fire had been started when someone who was inside the house set light to a mixture of petrol and white spirits which had been poured in the hallway.
Evidence from firefighters who had tried in vain to save the family was read to the court this morning.
They discovered the seven charred bodied in the upstairs rooms.
Crew commander David Canning said nothing in his career could have prepared him for the graphic scenes that greeted him.
'I haven't seen anything like it in my 18 years as a firefighter,' he noted in his statement.
