Sutton: Four children dead after house fire in south London

Firefighters tackle intense blaze throughout ground floor of terraced house at around 7pm on Thursday

Four children have died following a fire at a house in Sutton, south London.

Some 60 firefighters and eight fire engines attended the blaze at a terraced house in Collingwood Road at around 6.55pm on Thursday.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus entered the property and were said to have been faced with an intense blaze throughout the whole ground floor, before bringing out four young children – all of whom are believed to be related.

They were given CPR by firefighters at the scene, who continued to administer treatment until London Ambulance Service crews arrived.

All four children were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The fire was under control by 8.36pm and the cause is under investigation.

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said the deaths had “left everyone numb with profound sadness”.

He said: “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.”

Graham Norton, assistant director of operations at London Ambulance Service, added: “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.”

Around 60 firefighters attended the blaze (PA)

The Metropolitan Police said their officers would help with the investigation.

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.”

The Met said next of kin had been made aware of the fire, and no arrests have been made. Road closures are in place and emergency services remain at the scene.

Councillor Ruth Dombey, leader of Sutton Council, wrote on Twitter: “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.