Yahoo News Four children aged between three and eight dead after house fire in Stafford, say police
Four children aged between three and eight have died in a house fire in Staffordshire.
Two adults and a fifth child are being treated in hospital for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening following the blaze in Stafford.
Police and emergency services were called to reports of a fire on Sycamore Lane in the Highfields area at 2.40am on Tuesday.
Police confirmed that three boys, aged three, six and eight, died in the fire alongside a four-year-old girl.
They were named locally as Riley, Keegan, Tilly and Olly. Neighbours said their two-year-old brother, named locally as Jack, survived the fire with mother Natalie Unitt, 24, and her partner, Chris Moulton, 28.
The fire brigade said a man, a woman and a child jumped from a first floor window of the house.
Part of the roof has collapsed with the windows smashed and the inside appearing to have been blackened by smoke.
Chief Inspector John Owen of Staffordshire Police described the incident as “absolutely heart breaking”.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue are examining the scene and police have begun an investigation into the cause of the fire.
In a statement, police said: “Our thoughts are with the family, who are being supported by specialist officers at this difficult time.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) were called by the fire service.
Two paramedic officers, three ambulances, the Trust’s hazardous area response team, the Merit trauma team and a Basics emergency doctor attended the scene.
A spokeswoman for WMAS said: “When crews arrived they found an ongoing serious house fire. Three occupants, two adults and a child, had managed to get out of the property.
“All three patients were assessed and treated on scene by ambulance staff for non-life threatening injuries before being taken to hospital for further care.
“Tragically, four children from the property were confirmed dead on scene. Our thoughts are with the family at this exceptionally difficult time.”
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A nearby resident described how a sheet of flames engulfed an upstairs window at the property.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said: “We heard a bang and looked out of the back window upstairs.
“At the start it was just a sheet of fire coming out of the bedroom window.
“The neighbours came out and drove their car out of the back garden and there were lots of fire engines and police.”
Residents said a woman aged in her mid-20s lived at the property with her partner and five children aged between two and eight.
Another resident, who also didn’t want to be named, said: “The room at the back was completely full of flames.
“We just stood there with our hands over our mouths wondering what was going to happen next.
“A man and a woman got into an ambulance. They were in blankets and she had the little one in her arms.
“I’d assumed they had all got out. It’s terribly sad, almost beyond belief.”
A friend of the children’s mother said she believed the family had lived at the end-terrace property for around six months, having moved there from another part of Stafford.
Neighbour Bryan Pickering, who lives about 40 yards from the scene of the fire, was among those who contacted the emergency services after spotting the blaze.
“We were straight on to 999,” he said. “The flames were coming out that bad, there was nothing you could have done – even with a ladder.”
Local woman Amanda Blagg visited the scene to lay flowers and a teddy in memory of the children.
Wiping away tears, the 38-year-old said: “I saw the mum every day at the school – her son is in the nursery with my son.
“I heard what had happened on the news and I just cried straight away. It’s awful.”
