‘I will never forget the screaming’

NEIGHBOURS of Arthur McElhill said they were shocked last night by the news that the police were treating him as the prime suspect behind the fire in which he died along with his wife and five children.

Ross Hannaway, 53, said: “I can’t believe this. It is just to terrible to think about. You used to see the kids out playing all the time, and now they are just gone. Why would anybody want to do this?”

Police are likely to speak with friends, neighbours and workmates of Mr McElhill as part of their investigation.

The bodies of the seven are expected to be removed from the ruins of the end of terrace house tomorrow. Postmortem examinations will be carried out later, a vital part of the police inquiries.

Detective Superintendent Norman Baxter said: “This is one of the most tragic and devastating murder investigations that PSNI has had to encounter with the loss of so many young lives.

“Our initial forensic examination of the home has established that there was a significant quantity of accelerant discovered in the property. It is too early at this stage to rule anything in or anything out.”

Window-cleaner John Glinn, 21, was beaten back by fierce flames at the terraced house.

He recalled seeing the despairing faces of Arthur McEhill and his partner Lorraine McGovern at the window pleading for help before the blaze overcame them and their five children.

“The screaming was something I will never forget, it was as if the whole thing was amplified,” he said. “You could hear every noise, it was like being in a cinema with surround sound; like being in a tunnel.”

Counselling could be provided to residents caught up in the tragedy, an independent community organisation said.

Conor Keys, from Forum in Omagh, said: “We will be working with the community groups in this area to see what can be done. It must be very hard for them, it is something they never forget.” Forum was involved after the August 1998 Real IRA car bomb in the town which killed 29 people.

Mr Keys added: “We want to give people their time to get their heads around this. It is very difficult for them.”

Fr Tom McManus, the parish priest in Corlagh in Co Cavan where Lorraine McGovern grew up, said they had been a very close family.

“It’s just devastating when you look back at those things, the happy times and the good times,” he said.

“They were reminiscing about that the last time we had spoken together — the last time they had visited, at the baptism... it’s just horrendous.”