Children die in house fire
- 00:00:43
- ITN
Children die in house fire
Police have named a brother and sister who died in a house fire in Torquay. Ben McAuliffe, aged eight, and Stephani Wojak, 15, died on Saturday after being rushed to Torbay Hospital following the fire at their home in Ellacombe Church Road. Ben was a year four pupil at Coombe Pafford Special School and had learning disabilities. His sister was a pupil at Westlands School in Torquay. Floral tributes have been left outside the house, which was gutted by the blaze. Neighbours helped the parents and a child escape before firefighters arrived and rescued the teenage girl and eight-year-old boy from an upstairs bedroom. The boy died soon after being taken to Torbay Hospital, and the girl died later. Paul Slaven from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews arrived within minutes of the call and were faced with an extremely well developed fire in the ground floor. "The fire was fierce and developing rapidly, flames were coming out of the windows onto the street. There were lots of distressed people and neighbours were trying to help by knocking down the door." He added: "It is believed that there were no smoke alarms in the property."
ITN | October 18, 2009
