Mother and four children killed in 'suspicious' house fire
Police are investigating a 'suspicious' house fire which has killed a mother and four of her children in Barn Mead at Harlow in Essex.
The fire started at around 1.45am this morning and rescue services arrived to find the house ablaze.
Four people were pronounced dead at the scene. They have been named locally as Sabah Usmani and her sons Sohaib, 12, Rayyan, six, as well as 11-year-old daughter Hira.
A third son, Muneeb, nine, and daughter Maheen, four, were rescued by fire crews and taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow with serious burns.
One child died later in hospital and the other has now been transferred to a specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital in Essex.
A man - thought to be the children's father - has also been treated for minor injuries.
A spokeswoman for the fire service said the father was not at home when the blaze broke out. The chief executive of the Princess Alexandra Hospital has confirmed the father works there.
Neighbours raised the alarm after being woken in the early hours. They reported seeing flames and smoke billowing from the house.
The fire developed rapidly, suggesting some kind of fuel may have been used, according to Essex Chief Fire Officer David Johnson.
Mr Johnson said it is believed the father of the family was outside the house when the blaze started.
"Firefighters arrived to find harrowing scenes and did everything they could to save the family." he said.
Sharon Purvey who lives near the house told ITV Anglia she thinks she heard someone calling for help during the fire.
Detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said they are treating the house fire as suspicious.
Friends have paid tribute to those killed saying they were a "beautiful, well-behaved family."
Police have said a car fire in a car park near the house is being treated as arson, but the vehicle was not connected to the family involved in the house fire. However Chief Fire Officer David Johnson said the two fires were "beyond coincidence" and said he believed the two incidents were linked.