Sutton house fire: Woman, 27, arrested after four children die in ‘intense’ house fire

A woman has been arrested after two sets of twin boys, aged three and four, died in a devastating house fire in south London.

The 27-year-old has been held on suspicion of child neglect, the Metropolitan Police said.

Fire crews were called to a mid-terrace house in Collingwood Road, Sutton, shortly before 7pm on Thursday and found a “very well-developed” blaze, with the four boys inside.

Scotland Yard has said the children were all related.

Tributes have described the four young boys who perished in the fire as “so respectful, so polite”, our sister title LondonWorld reports.

One friend of the family said they would walk down the High Street together “listening to every word that came out of their mum’s mouth”.

What happened in Sutton?

Firefighters in breathing apparatus entered the mid-terrace house in Collingwood Road, Sutton, on Thursday (17 December) evening, as it was being ravaged by an “intense blaze”, before removing each of the four children and giving them CPR.

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said their deaths had “left everyone numb with profound sadness”.

The fire was under control by 8.36pm and the cause is under investigation.

The London Fire Brigade said eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were called to the scene at just before 7pm.

The children were treated at the scene before being taken to two south London hospitals where they were pronounced dead.

In a statement on Friday morning, the force confirmed the arrest and said the woman remains in police custody.

What’s been said?

Speaking of the firefighters involved, Mr Mills said: “Entering a building and rescuing life is always a very difficult place to be. The age of the children, the fact they are so young, will have a profound impact on them.”

Crews who attended are receiving counselling, he added.

Mr Roe said: “This is an incident that has left everyone numb with profound sadness. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the children, the whole local community and all those who will be affected by this fire.

“Fire crews arrived quickly and located the children inside the property.

“They were brought out of the house and given immediate emergency care.

“The welfare of our staff involved in this incident is very important to us and all of them will be offered counselling as a priority.”

What have the police said?

Superintendent Rob Shepherd said: “The thoughts of everyone at the South Area Command Unit are with the family and friends of these four young children, who have suffered such a devastating and tragic loss tonight.

“I know these sentiments will be shared by the local community, Sutton and London as a whole.

“We remain on scene with our emergency service colleagues and will be working through the night and beyond. At this very early stage the cause of the fire is unknown and will be investigated.”

Graham Norton, assistant director of operations at London Ambulance Service, said: “We sent a number of resources to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, paramedics in fast response cars, incident response officers and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

“We also dispatched trauma teams from London’s Air Ambulance and Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex – both teams consisted of a paramedic and a doctor in a car.

“We treated four children at the scene and took them to hospital.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the four young children and everyone affected by this devastating tragedy.”

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