Charger fault blaze wiped out family of 5
A FIRE that killed three generations of one family including a baby was last night said to have been caused by a faulty phone charger.
Boys Adyan Parwaiz Kayani, nine, Amaan Parwaiz Kayani, seven, and their nine-week-old sister Minahil died with grandmother Shabina Begum, 54, in t he blaze in Sheffield a fortnight ago.
Mrs Begum escaped the fire but died after going back in to try to save her trapped family. Her daughter, Anum Parwaiz, 20, the children’s aunt, also died.
Although detectives are not yet certain of the cause, they said yesterday it was probably a faulty
‘It’s a huge tragedy’
charger used for phones and tablets. It is believed the device was in the living room.
The tragedy highlights growing concerns about cheap, dangerous chargers. Most problems occur at night, when constant charging for hours can heat badly- made devices to dangerous levels.
The children’s mother, Razia Nazim, was asleep but able to escape just after midnight on April 28.
Her husband, Nazim Parvaiz, screamed as he was held back from trying to reach the dying youngsters.
He had been working as a taxi driver but rushed home to see the emergency services trying to restart the children’s hearts using cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
A funeral for the family on Thurs- day was attended by more than 2,000 mourners.
Ishfaq Hussain Kayani, the cousin of one of the women who died, said: ‘It’s a huge tragedy, five members of one family dying like this. A 54-year- old mother, her daughter, a 20-year- old student and three adoring grandchildren have lost their lives.
‘Just in a matter of minutes the whole family has been destroyed. The grandmother made several attempts to go and rescue the three children along with her daughter. She gave her life trying to rescue her grandchildren.
‘She was a wonderful lady – very generous, kind and an excellent wife and caring mother.’
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said an inquest would take place adding: ‘Following a joint investigation, South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have found that the most probable cause of the fatal house fire was an electrical fault involving a faulty charging device.’