West Midlands Police has confirmed it is investigating a devastating blaze which destroyed a row of six homes in Birmingham. The fire broke out on Daisy Farm Park before quickly spreading to homes on Gorleston Road in Highters Heath on Thursday, August 13.
Families have been left without a roof over their heads after the inferno destroyed their homes and everything inside them.
Fire service treats blaze as suspected arson
Fire commander Peter Simmons, speaking to BirminghamLive at the scene on Friday, confirmed the blaze had initially broken out on the park at the rear of the properties. He said the fire service was treating it as a 'suspected' arson incident after speaking to people in the area.
West Midlands Police have now confirmed detectives are investigating the incident alongside the fire service. The cause of the fire, however, has not yet been determined.
A force spokesperson said: "We're working with West Midlands Fire Service colleagues as an investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing."
Residents lose everything in the fire
Andrew Reynolds, speaking to us outside his mum's home, which was destroyed in the fire, said nothing could be saved in the blaze. Luckily his mum was at work at the time, but Andrew was unable to save anything from inside.
"There's nothing left," said the 42-year-old. "Mum's lost everything more or less, to be honest. Everything's gone, it's all gone. My mum's lost everything. All my mum's possessions, all the family things in the loft from my nan and grandad, photographs of yesteryear."
Another local, Emily Dalton, said her family were "very lucky" that the blaze didn't spread to their home. "My mum has oxygen so, if it hit her house, we would have went boom," said Emily.
Community comes together after the fire
Emily praised the local community for how it had come together in such a distressing moment. The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, with police and fire services working jointly to determine how the blaze started.
