Sunday 8 January 2012

Fire kills twins and brothers at Lancashire bungalow


Holly and Ella SmithTwins Holly and Ella Smith were in the house with their brothers
Three young children and their teenage brother have been killed by a fire at a bungalow in Lancashire.
The blaze broke out at the house in Lytham Road, Freckleton, at 23:20 GMT on Saturday.
Reece Smith, 19, four-year-old twins Holly and Ella Smith and two-year-old Jordan Smith were taken to hospital but were all later pronounced dead.
A woman, believed to be their mother 36-year-old Michelle Smith, was led away from the scene but was unhurt.
Her father, Keith Smith, 56, said it had been his daughter's birthday on Saturday.
He said his daughter had a total of nine children.
Reece SmithReece Smith, 19, was the oldest of the siblings who died
He said: "It's very shocking, these are such tragic circumstances.
"I don't know anything about what happened last night. They have lived here for about two-and-a-half years - this was their grandmother's former home.
"I haven't had chance to speak to Michelle yet. It is just terrible.
"I last saw them all just after Christmas.
"I can't think of any reason why this has happened. It has just come as a big shock."
A police spokesman said detectives were keeping an open mind as to what might have caused the fire.
'Chaotic scene'
They are now carrying out a joint investigation with the fire service.
The fire affected bedrooms of the house in the village, which is several miles west of Preston.
Jordan SmithJordan Smith's life could not be saved
From the outside there was no apparent damage caused by the blaze, but the scene has been cordoned off.
Friends and family have started leaving floral tributes near the house.
Phil Cox, group manager for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said as crews were en route they had received calls saying people were trapped inside the property, including a number of small children.
"As soon as the the crews arrived it seemed quite a chaotic scene with a lot of people outside quite distressed," he said.
"We sent in six firefighters who rescued four people and also led out one other person.
"We had police officers, fire officers and paramedics at the scene working on resuscitating the people brought out before they were taken to hospital.
"We would like to pass on our condolences to the family.
Scene of fire in FreckletonA woman believed to be the mother of the four dead was led away from the bungalow unhurt
"There was a reasonable amount of smoke at the time, we were faced with quite a heavy smoke-logged building."
Det Andy Murphy, of Lancashire Constabulary, said: "We are trying to establish the cause of this fire.
"We are keeping an open mind at this stage as to what happened."
He said that other people were in the house at the time of the incident.
"We need to determine how many people were there and determine what happened," he said.
He would not comment on whether a party was held at the address last night.

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