A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two young children died in a flat fire in Nottingham.
Emergency services were called to the blaze on Fairisle Close, Clifton, at 3.17am today (November 20).
Notts Police said the two girls, aged one and three, were taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre along with a woman.
The two girls were pronounced dead at the hospital. The woman remains in a critical condition.
A murder inquiry was launched after a joint fire and police investigation then concluded the fire was started deliberately.
Detectives have since arrested a 31-year-old man from Clifton on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. He remains in custody for questioning.
Detective Chief Inspector Greg McGill, who is leading the investigation, said: “This is a deeply tragic incident and we have a large team working tirelessly to understand the full circumstances.
“Whilst we have now made an arrest, the investigation remains at an early stage and we are continuing to appeal to anyone who has even the slightest bit of information, or even CCTV or dash-cam footage, to please come forward.”
Inspector Ben Lawrence, who has led reassurance patrols in the local community following the fire, added: “These are clearly very sad circumstances and our thoughts continue to be with the family of those involved.
“This has also been an extremely traumatic event for the local community, especially for neighbours who have been left shocked and deeply saddened by the deaths of two very young children.
“We’ve increased reassurance patrols in the area and if anyone has any concerns we’d encourage them to speak to one of our officers.”
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to submit through an online police portal: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).
People can also call 101 and ask for Nottinghamshire Police quoting incident 0110_20112022.
Alternatively, they can contact the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
