The 13-year-old girl has died after a house fire in Prescot, Merseyside – lowers, teddy bears and dolls have been left outside the property as tributes pour in for the teenager
Tributes have been paid to a 13-year-old girl who tragically died in a house fire.
Flowers, teddy bears and dolls have been left outside a house in Prescot, Merseyside today after the blaze took hold just before midnight last night. A man, woman and five children were able to escape from the property unharmed, but the teenage girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
Firefighters first received a 999 call at 11.42pm last night, and sent three fire engines to the scene. They found smoke pouring out of the mid-terraced house, and a fire was located in the first-floor rear bedroom.
The fire was extinguished by 12.29am this morning. Police remained on scene through the night, while firefighters left the scene at 02.20am.
Neighbours described hearing shouts and screams coming from the house late on Wednesday. One neighbour told the Liverpool Echo: “We woke up at about 11.43pm to shouts and screams. I saw huge flames coming from the house at the back.
“Because of the dogs I couldn’t walk out. It’s so sad. It’s even more sad because they had the same situation in July. They moved back recently after they renovated the whole house.
“The whole situation is just crazy. It’s normally quite quiet down here and we have lots of children on the street. It’s just terrible.
“People have been coming all day to leave flowers.”
Another neighbour described rushing out into the street after fearing it was their home on fire, and said: “I had to get my kids out the house early this morning. It was a whirlwind of a night. At first someone said it was my house so I had to get my two children out on my own.
“My parents live at the back and they rang me saying: you need to get out your house is on fire. When we got outside we realised it was them. I’ve got kids and it’s just the scariest thought in the world losing a child.”
A joint investigation involving Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s Incident Investigation Team and Merseyside Police into the cause of the fire has been launched, and house-to-house and CCTV enquiries have been carried out along the road.
Merseyside Police’s Detective Inspector Steven O’Neill said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the young girl at this very sad time. A joint investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing and the girl’s family is being supported by specially trained officers.”
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