A three-year-old boy has died in a house fire in Swansea while a 51-year-old man remains critically ill in hospital. At 1.20pm on Saturday, July 1, emergency services were called to Gonhill on the West Cross estate to a fire at a property in the cul-de-sac.
Neighbours have shared harrowing accounts of thinking a loud bang had come from the Wales Airshow which is taking place in Swansea this weekend. But the bang had actually come from the home where a Kurdish family of five live. The family are popular within the Muslim community in Swansea and regularly attend the local mosque, neighbours said.
Locals said a father, mother and three children live at the property and the mother and daughter, who is the oldest sibling, managed to flee the burning house first. They have both been treated for smoke inhalation. The middle child, the three-year-old boy's older brother, had been at the airshow with friends and wasn't in the house at the time of the fire.
The cause of the fire, which was contained to one property, is currently unknown and a joint investigation is being carried out by police and the fire service, who were at the scene again on Sunday afternoon. A large forensics team was also scouring the house, which has both upstairs windows missing at the front of the property.
On Sunday many people were approaching the front of the property, asking permission from South Wales Police officers to carefully place flowers on the ground in front of the house, which is guarded by cordons. One of the tributes to the little boy, who attended the nursery at Whitestone School on the estate, said: "To Mohammed Mouse. We will miss you every day at nursery. We were blessed to know you and have you as our friend. Love all at Whitestone Nursery, xxxx."
Clare-Anna Mitchell, who lives in West Cross and has set up a fundraiser for the family which by Sunday afternoon had raised more than £10,000, said: "The community has been rocked by the news. Everyone is very upset and people want to help and the way that we can help right now is by donating and then we will figure out what the family needs further down the line. The people living on the road are pulling together. They're devastated, but they're knocking each other's doors and leaning on each other for support."
Councillor Sara Keeton explained: "We're now just doing all we can as a community and we're waiting to find out what caused this fire to happen. It's a lovely community and the boy went to a lovely school at Whitestone. We'll do everything we can for all affected."
Cllr Rebecca Fogarty added: "Thank you to the emergency services for continuing its thorough investigation, and thanks to our wonderful community for pulling together and showing its strength for this family."
Detective Inspector Carl Price, from South Wales Police, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the young boy who sadly died at a house fire in West Cross, Swansea. An investigation is continuing to establish the exact circumstances of the fire. We wish to acknowledge the efforts of the local community for the support being offered and provided to the family following this tragic incident.”
