Explosion heard at scene of death blaze

Neighbours of a man who was killed in a suspected arson attack at a house in the Black Country during the early hours today described hearing an "explosion" as the blaze took hold.

Firefighters spent hours tackling the fire, which engulfed a terraced property on Rayleigh Road, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton, from about 12.25am.

The fire service today said that six people – including a seven-year-old child – escaped the blaze but that the body of a man, believed to be in his forties, was discovered in an upstairs room at 1.30am.

Police have confirmed that four people have been arrested in connection with the incident and were being quizzed by detectives. Fire investigation teams were today trying to establish the cause of the tragic blaze.

A 59-year-old neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she was watching TV when she heard what she described as an "explosion". "It was frightening," she said. "I got out of the house as quickly as I could. By that time there were lots of fire engines and a couple of ambulances.

"The firefighters did a really good job because it was awful. There were flames spreading out of the building. It was awful.

"I didn't know someone had died. It is really sad news. I have only lived in the area for a few weeks and didn't know the people that lived there but had occasionally seen people going in and out. It is such a sad thing to happen."

Andrew Lindell, aged 26, also of Rayleigh Road, said he was shocked by the tragedy. "I didn't see much, just the fire engines when they arrived and them trying to put the fire out," he said.

Fire service spokeswoman Lindsey Preece today said four men, a woman and a seven-year-old boy had escaped the blaze. West Midlands Police spokesman Steve Garey said confirmed that the fire was being treated as suspicious and that four people had been arrested in connection with the incident.