Woman Arrested After Five Children Die In Fire

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after five children died in a house fire.

Emergency services were called to the semi-detached council house on Victory Road in Allenton, Derby, just before 4am.
Eight people - two adults and six children - were taken to the Royal Derby Hospital.
The sixth child, aged 13, has been transferred to hospital in Birmingham for specialist treatment. The two adults were not seriously injured.

    Locally named resident Mick Philpott and six children, in a photo posted online last month

Derbyshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill announced the arrest at a news conference but stressed that detectives were keeping an open mind about the cause of the blaze.
"At the moment we are keeping a very, very open mind as to the cause of the fire."
The woman was arrested "elsewhere in the city", he said.
He added: "It appears at this stage of the investigation that the children were in bed asleep upstairs and the parents were downstairs.
Mr Cotterill said the father had made a "valiant attempt" to save the youngsters.
He has been named locally as Mick Philpott.

                                 The fire occurred in Victory Road, near Derby


On April 22, father-of-11 Mr Philpott updated his open access Facebook profile and revealed how much he adored his children.
He said: "These children are my life, much more than life itself.
Mr Philpott made national newspaper headlines several years ago over his attempts to get a larger council house for his family.
"All I've ever wanted is to do right by my family. My children are the most important thing in my life."
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Sean Frayne said 30 firefighters were sent to the pre-dawn scene.
"When the first crew arrived on scene, they were faced with a fire at the front of the building," Mr Frayne said.
"They quickly made their way past the fire to search the rest of the premises, having been told that persons were inside the house."
A neighbour, who gave her name only as Kaye, said she saw flames coming out of the house and "loads of ambulances", described it as a "horrible, horrible" scene.
"I just saw the babies going to the ambulance because it was parked outside our house," she said.
The ages of the children who died ranged from five up to 10 years old.
All five went to St George's Catholic Primary School in Littleover, Derby, a school spokeswoman confirmed.
A statement from the school said: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and community at this sad time.
"Whilst this is under police investigation, we are unable to make further comment."
:: Anyone who can help the inquiry into the incident have been asked to contact the police on 101.