A woman has been arrested after a house fire in Wolverhampton on Friday in which a one-year-old and three-year-old boy died, West Midlands police have said.
Emergency services were called to the property in the south of the city at about 8.30pm on Friday, with first responders attending from West Midlands police fire and ambulance services.
Firefighters entered the property and were able to remove two young children, but despite ambulance crews’ attempts to administer “advanced life support”, both were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Two other children and a woman were already out of the house when emergency services arrived, and did not require hospital treatment.
The woman, in her 30s, was arrested on suspicion of causing or allowing the death of two children. West Midlands police said she remains in custody.
Police have cordoned off the end-of-terrace house, which was extensively damaged in the blaze, while work is done to establish the cause of the fire.
On Saturday morning, forensic officers could be seen entering the property wearing protective equipment.
Sky News reported that the walls of the house looked scorched and that two ground-floor windows were open and blackened with smoke.
Officers are continuing with door-to-door inquiries with CCTV from the area also being retrieved and reviewed, police said.
A cordon at the scene was likely to remain in place for some time, the force added.
DCI Kylie Westlake, from the West Midlands police public protection unit, said: “This is a truly tragic incident and our thoughts remain very much with those who loved the children who have been lost.
“We understand the shock and distress this awful incident will have caused to many people and we are working at pace to ascertain exactly what has happened.
“Officers have arrested a woman on suspicion of causing or allowing the death of two children.
“While we would ask people not to speculate about this or the wider incident, we would ask that anyone who can help with our inquiries, and who is yet to speak with us, to get in contact.”
In a statement, West Midlands fire service said crews arrived within five minutes of receiving reports.
“Our thoughts are with the children’s loved ones and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident,” the fire service said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the police on 101 or via live chat quoting log 5640 of 24 April.