Mother and two children die in Boxing Day house fire in Stroud

A mother and her two children died in a fire at their home in Stroud on Boxing Day.

The father, a police officer with Gloucestershire Constabulary, managed to escape and taken to hospital.

Emergency services were called to a “deep-rooted” fire on Brimscombe Hill in Stroud, Gloucestershire, at around 03:00 GMT on Friday.

A seven-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy and their mother, all in their late 30s. Trapped inside burning property. The mother’s body was exhumed on Sunday, but official identification has not yet been made.

Police said the father tried to re-enter the property several times but was unable to get inside as the fire engulfed the house.

Detective Constable Ian Fletcher said: “We have numerous witnesses to his anguish at not being able to go in and save his children and his wife.”

“As you can imagine, he is very devastated. Unfortunately, he lost his family during what was supposed to be a happy festive period.”

The mother and father were awakened by the fire at 03:00 GMT and tried to reach the back bedroom where the children were sleeping.

The father managed to escape through the bathroom window before trying to get in through the nursery window.

But Det Supt Fletcher added that he was unable to do so due to the “ferocity and heat” of the fire.

He tried to re-enter through the bathroom, but the fire was “holding”.

He then tried to force his way in through the front and back doors, but could not get in.

Police confirmed the body of a child had been found but was still on the property.

Emergency services said they were “unable to recover” the child’s body “at this time.”

Efforts are ongoing to find the second child’s body, but the precarious state of the property requires teams to proceed with caution.

They stated that the fire started on the ground floor of the property and that there were no suspicious circumstances regarding the fire.

Det Supt Fletcher described it as a “tragic incident”.

During a press conference, Det Supt Fletcher said: “We are in a process where we are trying to recover the bodies of all the victims from within the property in a dignified manner to return them to their families.

“I can confirm that the spouse and surviving member of the family is a serving police officer with Gloucestershire Constabulary.

“Our hearts and prayers are with him and all his colleagues.

“He’s obviously working with us to figure out exactly what happened on that property.”

He added that the family asked for privacy.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said its crews managed to stop the fire from spreading from the mid-terrace house to neighboring properties, but the damage to the house was extensive.

“Upon arrival we were faced with a well-developed, serious fire,” said assistant fire chief Nathaniel Hooton.

“There is significant damage to the interior due to loss of flooring, stairwells and roof collapse.

“[Crews] They did their best to get in there and do whatever was necessary and they continue to work extremely hard to support the recovery of the unfortunate loss of life.

“Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues in the force, the local communities and the people who are working extremely hard in very difficult circumstances.”

Stroud District Council leader Chloe Turner said the authority would offer support to the community and emergency personnel.

“My heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible incident,” he added.

“It’s heartbreaking to wait for news in this uncertain situation. The family is known and loved locally so it’s a really difficult time.”