Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MY BABIES
Blaze mum’s screams as four kids die in house fire
A MUM screamed “my babies, my babies” as she watched her four young children die in a house fire.
Natalie Unitt, 24, leaped from an upstairs window with her partner Chris Moulton, 28, and their two-year-old son Jack to escape the blaze.
But they could only look on in horror from the street as the four other youngsters perished in the devastating fireball.
The tragic siblings were named by police as Riley, eight, Keegan, six, Tilly, four, and three-year-old Olly.
One neighbour said: “I was in the bathroom and heard a woman outside shouting, ‘my babies, my babies’. Then I heard a huge bang.
“I went to look outside and saw a massive flash of fire come out of the upstairs window of the house.
“The kids were really happy little things, really friendly. It’s such a tragedy.”
Fire investigators were last night probing whether yesterday’s fire was caused by an exploding boiler.
Natalie and Chris, who moved into the house last year, remain in hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. Locals said the couple jumped from their first-floor bedroom window when the fire broke out at around 2.40am.
Chris was clutching their youngest son Jack, who only celebrated his second birthday a fortnight ago.
Relatives said Natalie had been left broken by the deaths of her children.
Her cousin Sarah Pearce, 26, told the Mirror: “This will break her. She told me her kids were her world.
“She was born to be a mother. It’s all she wanted to do. That’s why she had so many.” Fire crews were called by worried neighbours, who heard “pops and bangs” coming from the house at 2.40am.
Neighbour Bryan Pickering added: “The flames were coming out that bad, there was nothing you could have done – even with a ladder.”
Another local, who did not want to be named, added: “The room at the back was completely full of flames.
“We just stood there with our hands over our mouths wondering what was going to happen next.
“A man and a woman got into an ambulance. They were in blankets and she had the little one in her arms.
“I’d assumed they had all got out. It’s terribly sad, almost beyond belief.”
The children’s distraught relatives visited the scene, in Stafford, yesterday and left floral tributes. Their grandad Colin Unitt wrote on a card: “To my lovely grandkids. I will always miss you. Love you always xxx.”
Another card read: “Will be dearly missed. Love Uncle Dave and Auntie Lou Lou.”
On her Facebook page, Natalie describes herself as a “proud mummy” whose “life changed” when she had children. Chris was father to three of the dead children. Riley’s dad was Michael Holt, from Wolverhampton.
Riley, Tilly and Olly all went to Castlechurch Primary School, half a mile from the family home. Headteacher Nicola Glover said: “Our entire school community is absolutely devastated by this news. Riley was a very confident, excitable member of school, who came every day full of enthusiasm.
“He was a caring friend who hated to see anyone hurt or upset and would do his best to help or cheer them up.
“Riley had a great sense of humour and an infectious giggle.” She added: “Tilly was a happy little girl who loved coming to nursery. She was a friendly and caring child, who loved to read stories, dress up and paint.
“Olly was a happy, loving boy who loved cuddles. He was always happy to come to nursery...”
Keegan was a pupil at Marshlands School, whose head Kim Ellis described him as “lively, full of fun and mischief ”. Fire crews were damping down at the scene yesterday. Rob Barber, deputy chief fire officer, said it was too early to speculate on the likely cause of the blaze.
One local said: “We’ve heard it was a boiler on the upstairs landing that exploded, that’s why they couldn’t escape.” Chief Insp John Owen, of Staffordshire Police, described the blaze as “absolutely heartbreaking”. A fire in an upmarket apartment block in Paris killed 10 people yesterday. A woman of 40 has been arrested on suspicion of arson.