However, the Salts' desperate attempts to dig through the garbage were futile, as the garbage was completely engulfed in flames, leaving the two with no way to escape. Veruca and her father, desperate to escape, frantically gripped and clawed at the wall to try to climb up it, but the heat was unbearable, and the wall was too smooth and hot to gain any traction. Mr. Salt, who was frantically shouting for help, realized that their situation was dire.
"Daddy, what are we going to do?!" Veruca cried. "I don't know Veruca. This might be our end" Mr. Salt replied sadly.
Veruca didn't want to give up. She tried to climb up the wall again, but her fingers slipped and began to burn from the intense heat. Her nails had also been broken from her attempts to grip and claw at the wall, as well as the stress from the heat. The garbage around them began to smolder in the flames and emit smoke. Rupert Salt, seeing his daughter's distress, grabbed her and pulled her close, trying to shield her from the flames. Despite their efforts, the increasing heat and smoke made it harder for them to breathe.
"Daddy, I don't want to die!" Veruca screamed, and broke down in tears. "I'm so sorry Veruca. I should have protected you from the squirrels" Rupert Salt said, apologizing to his daughter. "I forgive you, daddy" Veruca replied, crying. The flames began to consume the garbage around them, and the heat became overwhelming. The incinerator's flames grew hotter, and their cries for help were drowned out by the roar of the flames. Veruca and her father screamed in pain as the flames engulfed them. The Salts' final screams filled the incinerator as the flames burned the two of them, as well as all the garbage.
Veruca and Rupert Salt were ultimately incinerated with the rest of the garbage in the incinerator. Their bodies had been burned up completely by the incinerator's flames and heat. All that remained of them was ashes. The Salts were gone, their deaths a tragic result of Veruca's greed in the Nut Sorting Room.