Father comforted after family die in blaze

An English market trader who lost five members of his family in a massive house fire just minutes after he left for work was being comforted by friends and relatives tonight.

The bodies of two young children, their mother, grandmother and uncle were all pulled from the blaze at their home in Leicester by firefighters early this morning.

Their father escaped the tragedy by minutes, leaving the house to set up his underwear stall in Leicester market shortly before the fire broke out, neighbours said.

Firefighters were called to the blaze on Somerville Road in Rowley Fields, just after 5am this morning.

Neighbours said they heard a woman screaming for help out of an upstairs bedroom window but there was nothing anyone could do to save them.

Fire crews arrived to see flames leaping from the front and back of the semi-detached property and smoke covering the road.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus made their way into the back of the house where they discovered the victims.

A police cordon remained around the property tonight as scene of crime officers and forensic scientists examined the scene of the blaze.

Friends and relatives of the family stood in the street, visibly shaken as the blackened, charred remains of the house stood as a chilling reminder of what had happened.

Market traders, who had worked with the family for many years, cleared their stalls when they heard the news this morning.

Neighbour Amarjit Singh said: “It all happened so quickly. The woman had been shouting 'help' at the back of the house.

“There are people nearby and nobody heard anything. The woman rang a neighbour to say her house was on fire.

“All the houses were covered in smoke. She did try her best, poor lady.”

A market trader said: “It is just unbelievable. I know the mother and the kids because they were coming and going all the time.

“The traders all left when they found out about it to give him some support.

“He is left alone now – only him, nobody else.

“If something like that happened to me I don’t know how I would get over it.

“Even while I’m talking to you I feel like crying.”

Another trader added: “There is a lot of upset round here.

“Everyone went home – they couldn’t stay after they heard what had happened.”

A fire service spokesman said the cause of the blaze had not yet been determined but they were not ruling out any suspicious circumstances.

Chief fire officer David Webb told a press conference at the scene: “We had a severe fire in the property behind me – a very severe incident in which, unfortunately, five people lost their lives.

“It is still in the hands of the police to identify the victims and look at the cause of the fire and the cause of deaths.

“With a fire as severe as the one here it will take some considerable time to get through the house and the investigation has not revealed a great deal at the moment.”

He said the horrific discovery of the five bodies had been difficult for the crews to deal with and they were receiving support.

Around 30 firefighters were at the scene at the height of the blaze, which had taken hold at the house very quickly.

He added that he could not confirm any details of the five victims but revealed that there was one person who was not in the property at the time of the fire.