Two people, including a child, have died in a house fire in Middlesbrough that police say may be linked to wider organised crime. The blaze broke out on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown shortly after 5am on Wednesday, and a murder investigation has been launched.
Cleveland Police confirmed a child died in the fire, though the age and gender have not yet been formally confirmed. A 48-year-old woman remains in hospital in a critical condition, and three other people suffered injuries described as non-life-threatening.
Arrests made on suspicion of murder
Two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody. Redcar and Cleveland Local Policing Commander, Superintendent Emily Harrison, said: “We continue to work to establish the circumstances of exactly what has happened. But are keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time.”
Neighbours described hearing children screaming for help from an upstairs window as fire and smoke engulfed the property. It is believed three adults and three children, two aged 15, were in the end-of-terrace house when the fire started.
Witnesses describe scene
A 20-year-old woman, who gave her name as Ellie, said: “I heard the children screaming, and I just ran down the road shouting for help. Neighbours came out to help. Everyone tried to get them out. I ended up holding the hand of one of the women who got out; she was an older woman. She was just crying and in pain; the ambulance took her away.”
One eyewitness saw a girl, believed to be seven years old, carried out by a firefighter. He said: “I woke up at about 5 a.m. because of the noise from the fire engines. I went out and saw the girl being carried out by a firefighter dressed in an orange uniform. Her body was limp, and it looked to me like she was deceased. I think that she was staying there overnight, and the woman who lived there was her aunt. They are an ordinary family. A girl who was in the house and her friend jumped out of the window to escape the fire. I think that one of the couple who lived there had their mum staying over, and we believe that she is in the RVI in a coma.”
Possible link to A66 tragedy
The Grangetown estate is close to the scene of Sunday's crash on the A66, in which a VW Passat travelling the wrong way collided with two police officers. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the collision, along with Cole Worthy, 17; Theo Rae, 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak.
Cleveland Police are not ruling out a link between the two incidents. Officers were called to the fire just before 5.30am on Wednesday. A woman remains in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle in a critical condition, and a further three people are receiving treatment in hospital.
Superintendent Harrison said: “This is a tragic incident which has sadly resulted in the deaths of a number of people this morning, and their families are being supported by specially trained officers. We are working to establish the circumstances of exactly what has happened, but we are keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time. We will have a high visibility presence in the Grangetown area as this investigation progresses, and to provide reassurance to local communities, who will no doubt be impacted by this tragic incident. We encourage anyone who has concerns, or who may have information regarding the incident in the early hours of this morning, to approach one of our officers or to contact Cleveland Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously.”
Cleveland Fire Brigade said they sent six fire engines and the incident command unit to the scene. Redcar & Cleveland borough councillor for Grangetown, Adam Brook, called the fire “absolutely devastating”. He said: “Many residents have been in touch with me throughout the morning, and I know there is understandably a great deal of concern. However, I would urge people not to speculate or share unconfirmed information. At this stage I don’t want to speculate or comment on any information that has not been officially confirmed while the emergency services continue their work.”
Background to the A66 crash
Cleveland Police have arrested 17 people following the crash on Sunday. The Passat had been pursued by police following an earlier incident in which a house in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, linked to Worthy, was rammed by a vehicle. The pursuit was aborted when the Passat went the wrong way down the A66.
Police have previously said the five young men in the Passat may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”. Four of the five had criminal convictions and were believed to be associated with another car which was seen ramming properties earlier that morning. On the morning of the collision, police received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously. The first vehicle, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was witnessed ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area. The second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, is believed to have been associated with the activities of the Volvo. Both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology. The Volvo XC60 has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.
PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit but had been called to the area to assist with the search for the Passat. Anna Turley, MP for Redcar and Cleveland, shared this message on social media: “A very serious incident is ongoing on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown this morning. My thoughts are with everyone affected, and with our emergency services dealing with what is clearly a very difficult situation.” Cleveland Police declined to comment on the ages of the two people who died in the fire.
