Arson arrest over fire which left mother and son critically ill
A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a mother and her young son were badly hurt by a blaze in an apartment above a shop in the Midlands.
The blaze broke out on The Horsefair, Kidderminster, just before 10pm yesterday.
The woman, 22, who unconfirmed reports said was pregnant, was critically ill this afternoon.
Her five-year-old son was initially said to be critically ill, but later was said to have been in a serious but stable condition.
Police said the suspect, from Kidderminster, was being held on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
Radford Avenue down to the Ringway will be 'closed for the foreseeable future' while police and fire officers investigate.
The victims were today being treated at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Children's Hospital respectively. Two other people were treated for the effects of smoke inhalation, but their condition was not serious.
Nick Cadman, North Worcestershire Fire Commander, said: "Fire crews responded promptly to the incident and recovered two casualties from the building. They worked with police and ambulance crews to treat the casualties at the scene before they were taken to hospital.
"This was a significant operation involving all the emergency services and our primary concern was the immediate safety of people involved in the incident. The prompt action of the officers also helped to limit the impact on residential and commercial properties in the surrounding area."
Richard Griffiths, aged 42, owns Comics and Toys, which is next to where the fire happened.
He turned up at his shop in the morning to find cordons around house.
He said: "I saw the mother and child, they were usually with a Czech guy, but I didn't know them well.
"It's not nice hearing what happened. I hope they are okay."
Diane Powell, 58, was returning from her daughter's house last night when she found the emergency services at the house.
She lives in a downstairs flat below where the mother and child lived. She said they moved in a few months ago, but didn't know there names.
She said the boy was aged five.
She said: "As I came back I saw smoke.
"It was utter chaos, the place was full of police and fire engines and ambulance crews."
She added: "They (mother and son) have not long moved in, only knew them to say hello.
"They are a man and his wife and young son, and she was pregnant again.
"They seemed very nice."
The building has five flats, three upstairs and two downstairs.
Supt Kevin Purcell, from West Mercia Police, added: "We are currently treating this fire as suspicious and would appeal for anyone with information that may help with our investigation to contact us. The investigation will be led by a detective inspector and will involve investigators from the fire and rescue service and our scenes of crime officers. We would like to thank everyone in the surrounding area for their support and patience while we manage and investigate this incident."
Anyone with information should call 101 and quote incident 0715s of 27th November 2014, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
