In a sad turn of events, three children and a mother have been confirmed dead following a house fire mishap in Essex. The house fire injured two more children who are undergoing treatment at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, with one among them in critical condition.

The property in Barn Mead, Harlow, was found in flames, where two boys aged 13 and six, a girl aged 11 and the woman, were found dead by firefighters who had arrived at the scene at about 01:45 BST, to find flames coming out of the front and back doors of the house.

Desperate efforts to save the victims were undertaken by the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service team, but it was all in vain. Steve Foster, from the fire service, said, “Crews arriving at the scene did everything they could. They were faced with a rapidly developed fire and went straight into the burning building wearing breathing apparatus to bring people out as quickly as possible. Once casualties were out, they worked alongside ambulance teams to do all they could.”

A spokeswoman for the service said the father was not at home when the house caught fire, and that the four fatalities occurred at the scene. The cause of the house fire is yet unknown and a joint police and fire service investigation will be carried out to establish the cause of the house fire.

The spokeswoman added that the firefighters had brought the victims out of the house and were doing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) outside, after which they were confirmed dead at the scene.

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