Stafford house hit by tragic fire which killed four children reduced to rubble
A home where four young children died in a fire has been reduced to rubble.
The house in Sycamore Lane, Stafford, where Riley Holt, aged eight, Keegan Unitt, six, Tilly Rose Unitt, four, and three-year-old Olly Unitt lost their lives, has been demolished.
Only bricks and rubble remain on the site and Stafford and Rural Homes is now considering plans to provide a “much needed dwelling”. Karen Armitage, chief executive of Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH), said family members have been consulted throughout and the community is planning a memorial in the area.
The children’s mother Natalie Unitt and her partner Chris Moulton escaped the fierce blaze alongside their two-year-old son Jack in February this year.
The house in the Highfields area is deemed to be unsafe following an assessment by a structural engineer.
The home, timber fence and a nearby tree will all be cleared and replaced with grassland.
The boundary wall with the neighbouring home will also be torn down, alongside part of the roof of the neighbouring home as well.
The community in Highfield was rocked by the deaths of the four young children in the tragic blaze. Memorial services were held around the town as Stafford pulled together to support the family, while more than £30,000 was raised for them.
The money is being put in a trust for young Jack.
Four months on from the tragedy, investigations into the cause of the blaze are ongoing.
Rumours of a cannabis fire and a boiler defect were quickly ruled out by police.
A 25-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence three days after the fire but were released under investigation.
