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Crime

17th Dec 2021

Woman arrested following house fire that killed four children

Kieran Galpin

Fire

The fire broke out in Sutton on Thursday night, just before 7pm

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect following a house fire in the south of London that killed two sets of young twins.

All of the boys, aged between three and four, were given CPR by firefighters at the scene of the Collingwood Road fire in Sutton. The London Fire Brigade said the kids were alone and were later taken to two separate hospitals following the fire. However, all of them were declared dead in hospital.

Read more: Four children killed in London house blaze after 60 firefighters battled the flames

The 27-year-old has now been arrested, but no name has been revealed as of yet.

“This is an incident that has left everyone numb with profound sadness,” said London Fire commissioner Andy Roe.

“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.”

Superintendent Rob Shepherd of the Met Police 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 last night.

“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 resources including advanced paramedics, members of the Hazardous Area Response Team and two trauma teams attended.

“We treated four children at the scene and took them to hospital,” he said.

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

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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