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Woman arrested after five children killed in house fire Woman arrested after five children killed in house fire
(about 4 hours later)
A woman in her late 20s has been arrested after five children, aged between five and 10, died in a house fire in Derby early on Friday. A sixth child, aged 13, is being treated in hospital. A major investigation is taking place after five children under 10 died in a house fire early on Friday as a woman in her 20s is being questioned by police on suspicion of murder.
Emergency services were called to a house in the Allenton district of the city shortly before 4am on Friday. Derbyshire police said two adults and six children were taken to hospital. The adults were suffering from minor injuries. The fierce blaze broke out at a brick and pebbledash-rendered property in Allenton, Derby, shortly before 4am on Friday. Flames and smoke rapidly spread through the house, thwarting rescue attempts.
Police refused to confirm the identity of the family or any details about the arrested woman. The children who died have been named by Derbyshire police as Jade Philpott, 10, John Philpott, nine, Jack Philpott, seven, Jessie Philpott, six, and Jayden Philpott, five. A sixth child, aged 13, is seriously ill in a hospital in Birmingham, and is receiving specialist treatment.
At a press conference, assistant chief constable Steve Cotterill said the woman was arrested following the fire. Cotterill said detectives were keeping an open mind about its cause. The children were asleep upstairs when the fire broke out, and their father made "valiant efforts" to save them, Derbyshire Police's assistant chief constable Steve Cotterill said.
The children's parents, neighbours and firefighters fought to rescue them from the first floor of the house. The father made a "valiant attempt" to save the children, police said. The dead children's father, who has been named locally as Mick Philpott, escaped with minor injuries, as he and his wife were asleep downstairs, the police said.
Cotterill added: "Our thoughts are with the parents and the family of the children for their tragic loss and for the community of Allenton, who would of course known the children as they played." A woman in her late 20s has been arrested by police in another part of the city and is being questioned on suspicion of murder. It is believed she knows the family, who had previously lived in an unconventional arrangement where Philpott shared the home with his wife and girlfriend and their 10 children.
He said he was not prepared to speculate on the cause of the blaze and he urged people not to read too much into the arrest of the woman. According to friends, until recently, the couple and their children shared the house with Philpott ex-girlfriend, but the relationship ended acrimoniously.
"It is a matter of a police inquiry, where we have to act very quickly to preserve any evidence which may feature later in an inquiry," he said. There have been allegations on social networking sites, that the family were subject to threats, but Derbyshire Police refused to comment.
Potentially, it was a murder inquiry, he said. Neighbours in Victory Road spoke of being woken by noise early on Friday morning as other residents shouted for help and tried to get in to the burning house.
The arrested woman was being detained elsewhere in the city. He said there were eight people living at the house permanently, although others may have stayed on an ad-hoc basis. Joe Peel, who lives nearby, said he was woken by his dog. "I got up, I looked outside and it looked really foggy," he said. "I looked down the road and across the road one of the house's doors was just covered in flames. I grabbed my phone and started getting dressed as I was on the phone to the fire brigade. I ran out of the house, screaming to the neighbour to wake him up."
All five of the children who died attended St George's Catholic primary school in Littleover, Derby, the school confirmed. A statement from the school said: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and community at this sad time. Whilst this is under police investigation, we are unable to make further comment." Peel said he could hear his neighbour's voice, but he couldn't get in to the house because of the flames and smoke. "Two or three minutes later you could see the flames going up the stairs through the side window of the house. When the fire brigade came it was billowing smoke going up the road – it was absolutely horrible."
Neighbour Joe Peel said he was woken by his dog in the early hours. "I got up, I looked outside and it looked really foggy," he said. "I looked down the road and across the road one of the house's doors was just covered in flames. The family featured in a tabloid newspaper five years ago as Philpott complained that he needed a bigger council house as he has 14 children. Former Tory MP Ann Widdecombe later made a documentary about them.
"I grabbed my phone and started getting dressed as I was on the phone to the fire brigade. I ran out of the house, screaming to the neighbour to wake him up." Neighbour Sam Smith, 30, said: "There had been a lot of negative publicity about him over the years, but no family deserves this. It is an absolute shock. No parent should have to go through losing one child, let alone five. From my experiences of Mick, he has always been a pleasant man. He adored his children."
He said he could hear the man's voice, but could not get into the house because of the flames and smoke. "Two or three minutes later you could see the flames going up the stairs through the side window of the house. When the fire brigade came it was billowing smoke going up the road – it was absolutely horrible." The road is close to the Rolls-Royce factory and takes its named from the 'winged victory' badge on its cars. On Friday it was cordoned off by police as the joint fire service investigation was carried out. Fire damage was evident on the front wall of the house, with soot marks mainly on the right-hand side. The rear windows smashed as a result of the rescue operation.
A police spokesman said: "Police can confirm that five children have died in a house fire. A sixth child, aged 13, has been transferred to hospital in Birmingham for specialist treatment. The two adults are not seriously injured." Daniel Walsh, who knew the family for many years, said it was tragic and shocking. "Any parent's worst nightmare," he said. "He [Philpott] had many children, as everybody knows, and he loved them all the same. No doubt. It's just a tragic loss."
The spokesman said the investigation into the cause of the fire was at a very early stage and urged anyone who could help police to get in touch. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Sean Frayne said 30 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze. He said the crews worked extremely hard in the very difficult circumstances and quickly located six casualties, who were moved to open air.
A joint investigation is taking place by the force and Derbyshire fire service into the cause of the blaze. Fire and ambulance crews worked to try and resuscitate the children and he said they continued to "work very, very hard to save the lives." He added: "Unfortunately this has had a huge effect not only on the community but certainly within the fire and rescue service and other emergency services that were in attendance."
Speaking at the scene, Gavin Tomlinson, area manager for the fire service, said all occupants had been rescued early in the incident. "Quite a lot of people were in the street trying to help as well," he said. The fire service's area manager, Gavin Tomlinson, said the incident was "frustrating, traumatic and tragic" for the family, relatives and firefighters.
The incident was "frustrating, traumatic and tragic" for the family, relatives and firefighters who deal with it, he said. Derbyshire police refused to confirm the identity of the family saying it would be inappropriate and insensitive.
Assistant chief constable Steve Cotterill told a press conference that detectives were keeping "an open mind" about the cause of the fire. He confirmed a woman in her late 20s was arrested and is being questioned, but refused to elaborate.
The children's parents, neighbours and firefighters fought to rescue the children from the first floor of the house, he added.
He said their thoughts are with the parents and family of the children for their tragic loss and for the community of Allenton "who would, of course, known the children as they played." He urged people not to read too much into the arrest of the woman.
"It is a matter of a police inquiry, where we have to act very quickly to preserve any evidence which may feature later in an inquiry," he added. Potentially, it was a murder inquiry, he added. There were eight people living at the house permanently, although others may have stayed on an ad-hoc basis.
All five children attended St George's Catholic primary school in Littleover, Derby, the school said. A statement from the school said: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and community at this sad time. Whilst this is under police investigation, we are unable to make further comment."