Two arrested after mother and baby die in house blaze

The pair died in a blaze in Chatham, Kent, which left three members of the same family seriously injured.

A 49-year-old man, believed to be the woman’s father, is in hospital with life-threatening burns after the fire.

It is believed the arrested men knew the victims of the attack. One is in his twenties, but no further information was available about their identity.

Emergency services were called to the fire at a house in Chatham Hill at around 2.30am yesterday, and firefighters had to battle their way in to the property.

A 21-year-old man, believed to be the brother of the woman who died, suffered a broken ankle, while a woman believed to be her mother is in a serious condition with burns and smoke inhalation injuries.

The baby who died was 15 months old.

Kent Police Chief Superintendent Neil Jerome yesterday appealed for help in finding out what happened. The Medway area of the county saw a series of arson attacks last month, and officers are investigating the possibility of a link with the other fires, a Kent Police spokeswoman said.

Ch Supt Jerome stressed that at this early stage there was no concrete evidence of a connection. Speaking to journalists, he said: “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of those who have been involved in this very tragic fire, and I would appeal to anybody who was in the Chatham Hill area of Chatham at half-past two yesterday morning who has seen anything suspicious, or anything that is connected with this particular tragic incident to make contact with Kent Police.”

Andy Merriman, from Kent Fire and Rescue, said firefighters had to battle their way past a serious blaze to get into the property.

“Crews were confronted by an extreme fire early in the morning,” he said. “The incident was a very serious incident in which our crews managed to fight their way in to prevent further spread to adjoining properties.

“But, tragically, two people have died.”

The previous arson attacks, which happened in a four-day period, targeted a number of properties including a derelict house in Vicarage Road, Strood, a disused restaurant in Rochester High Street, flats in Fort Pitt Street, Chatham, and the derelict Market Cafe in Corporation Street, Rochester. No-one was injured in these incidents.