Post by emre on Dec 15, 2009 17:56:49 GMT
A FAMILY with three young children had to flee their home after it was attacked by arsonists.
Flames engulfed the front door of the house on Hollyhill Gardens, in South Stanley, County Durham, after something was pushed through the letterbox and set alight.
The family-of-five – a couple and three young children – were asleep in the house at the time and were only woken by smoke alarms.
The 24-year-old man and 26-year-old woman managed to escape the flames with the three youngsters aged four, two and one before the emergency services arrived.
Two crews from High Handenhold Fire Station, in Durham, attended the scene at around 4.30am this morning and spent more than an hour bringing the flames under control and making the property safe.
The front door was completely destroyed by the flames and a small amount of smoke damage was caused to the rest of the home.
An investigation has now been launched to establish what was pushed through the door to start the fire and who was responsible.
One neighbour, a mum of two, said: “I’ve been told by the police this morning that someone put a petrol bomb through the letter box.
“It’s actually really frightening. I have two children and this is a mother’s worst nightmare. I’m going to make sure all my smoke alarms are working.”
A man who was staying in the next door house said: “I can’t believe I slept through it all. The police have been asking questions this morning. We never usually have bother around here.
“Everyone is saying that it was a petrol bomb pushing through the letter box and it was the smoke that woke the family up. It’s disgusting – there were little children in there.”
John Rodham, watch manager at High Handenhold Fire Station, said: “This was a very serious incident.
“Fortunately for the family, they had their house heavily smoke-alarmed and were woken by the alarms.
“This once again is an example of how smoke alarms save lives and it is vital every household should have working alarms.”