Manchester house fire mum screamed from window as kids leapt to escape blaze that killed their parents
Police launch investigation into cause of blaze
A DESPERATE mum screamed from an upstairs window as her children leapt for their lives to escape the blaze that killed their parents.
Four children, aged between 10 and 17, were injured in the devastating house fire that killed their parents in Manchester this morning.
The youngsters jumped from a window and were caught by neighbours, fire chief Mark Threader has confirmed.
A second man in the house also escaped the fire and remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Neighbours have said they heard screams as the blaze ripped through the property and saw the children sobbing in the garden.
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One neighbour described the family as "close and nice" saying "they were always happy and had nice children".
The neighbour added: "We were sleeping and then at 2.30am my wife woke up and said that she heard a bang, so we got up and looked out the window.
"She looked right and then she saw a lot of smoke. She looked through the window and then heard some more screaming.
"My little sister said there was a fire and people were trying to break into the house. A few people were in the top window at the back and they seemed to be stuck. I rushed out to go to them.
"My neighbour was sat with two kids. The four children were out of the house. Two were with one neighbour and the other two with another neighbour.
"The oldest girl was screaming because she jumped out the window and was in agony. All the kids were in the road.
"At that moment we were faced with getting as many people out of the house as possible.
"We are very shaken. The fire brigade broke in the front and found one man on the staircase and dragged him out."
Emily Puckering, a 22-year-old student, added: "I had heard a woman shouting out the window and flames shooting out too. The woman kept saying: 'Save my house, save my house' and screaming.
"There were people crying and shouting. I looked out my window and could see massive flames and black smoke coming from the windows."
One elderly neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "I just heard screaming some time after 2am and got up to see what it was.
"They got out who they could and everyone sat down in the garden. The police asked if we had any blankets. We were able to help a tiny bit.
"There was a lot of black smoke and damage to the windows. Everyone who got out was injured to some extent.
"Everybody in the area is shocked by it. It was horrible to see the kids sat on the garden crying."
Emergency services were called to Parsonage Road, Withington, just before 2.30am today and have launched a joint investigation into the cause of the blaze.
Mr Threader said the fire is believed to have been started in a room at the back of the house on the ground floor.
Pictures show the glass in an upstairs window was blown out and the frame is scorched by the blaze.
Superintendent Mark Kenny said: “This is a tragic incident and we are working work closely with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to establish exactly how this fire started.
“We want to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the fire, or were in the area in the hours before the fire.
“If you have any information I urge you to contact police as soon as possible so we can piece together what happened.”
Prayers and a vigil are to be held in the local church this evening.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 140 10/02/17 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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