Four children who are believed to be two sets of twins have died in a tragic London house blaze.
Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were called to an “intense blaze” at just before 7pm on Thursday night.
The first fire crews on scene were faced with a blaze throughout the whole of the ground floor.
The emergency services later confirmed that four children – all said to be under the age of five – had died in the tragedy.
Neighbours said they were two sets of twins, aged two and four, who were ‘sweet-natured and happy’, MyLondon reports.
Horrifying footage filmed on Thursday night shows an ‘intense fire’ raging inside the property, with flames coming out of a window.
The walls of the building were covered in black smoke stains and the windows were burnt out in pictures taken on Friday morning.
Ambulances, fire engines and police cars were seen in attendance on Thursday night.
Firefighters in breathing apparatus entered the mid-terrace house and brought four young children out of the property.
They were given immediate CPR by firefighters at the scene, who continued to administer treatment to assist London Ambulance Service crews on arrival.
All four children, believed to be related, were taken to hospital where, tragically and despite the efforts of all involved, were pronounced dead.
According to the Evening Standard, one neighbour said: “We saw the flames and just couldn’t believe our eyes. Those poor kids. We were all screaming and calling the emergency services.”
London Fire Brigade was called at 6.55 pm and the fire was under control by 8.36 pm.
Firefighters from Sutton and surrounding fire stations were at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe has spoken of his profound sadness after the tragic death of four children at a house fire in Sutton this evening.
He 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.”
A statement from the Met Police read: “Police were called by the London Fire Brigade shortly after 19:00hrs on Thursday, 16 December to reports of a fire at a residential address on Collingwood Road in Sutton.
“Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service.
“The fire was extinguished and four children – all believed to be related – were recovered from the address.
“They were treated at the scene before being taken to two south London hospitals. Very sadly, all four were pronounced dead.
“Next of kin are aware and will be provided with specialist support.”
There have been no arrests.
The Metropolitan Police said the four children who died are believed to be related.
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.”
Assistant Director of Operations at London Ambulance Service Graham Norton said: “We were called at 7.10 pm tonight (16 December) to reports of a fire in Collingwood Road, Sutton.
“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. Thank you to all the ambulance crews and our colleagues in the fire brigade and police, who all worked so tirelessly to try to save them.”
Neighbours have since spoken of their horror following the tragedy.
One person wrote on social media: “An ambulance has just gone past with blue lights on. It’s so sad and unreal seeing all the blue lights. So heartbreaking.”
Another said: “Heartbreaking. I really hope they all make it. I’m praying so hard the kiddies are okay.”
One person said: “In tears reading about the fire in Sutton tonight.”
Another tweeted: “Heartbreaking, my thoughts go out to the family.”
Cllr Ruth Dombey, leader of Sutton Council, said on social media: “Tragic and heartbreaking news from Sutton tonight following the death of four children in a house fire on Collingwood Road.
“My thoughts go out to the family, friends and local community of those involved and to the emergency services who attended.”
