That house fire that killed a mum and five of her children It's so awful, and according to the LFB, the worst house fire in the capital in over a decade. And the poor father and daughter that managed to escape; as lucky as they are to be alive, it's tragic for them to have lost the rest of their family, and of course their home. How they will get through it all I don't know, but I hope they have other family and friends there for them. The neighbours heard the father screaming "My wife, my wife!" I had tears in my eyes when I read that. And how awful for the neighbours to witness, it's going to be tough for them to cope with it all too. The latest news is that a chest freezer at the bottom of the stairs in the hallway is a likely cause of the fire, the make of it is currently unknown. IMO it would seem likely, considering how the fire engulfed both floors, and electrical fires tend to cause particularly toxic fumes, which is what caused the deaths. Although, of course, any smoke from a fire can kill. I don't know if they had working smoke alarms, and I don't want to make assumptions or seem harsh, but I can't help but wonder. Seeing as, from my knowledge, electrical fires smoulder etc quite a lot before actual flames start, one would assume it would set the alarms off and they all would've escaped. But then it isn't always that simple unfortunately, and it does seem the fire spread severely and rapidly (as I said above, if it did start of the bottom of the stairs then it would explain why so). According to the Daily Mail (!) a friend of the father says the father saw smoke coming from the back of the freezer and the wallpaper caught fire, he left the house to raise the alarm then tried to go back in to save his family. Not sure what to make of it, and it is the Daily Mail...it doesn't seem right that a father would leave his family in a burning house? Yes the sooner you raise the alarm to others/call 999 (I'm assuming this was why he left) the better but one would assume you'd instinctively save your family etc first. Like I said, Daily Mail. Anyway, the reason I mentioned that wasn't to rant or gossip (for lack of better word) about what the father did or anything. It just made me think about how important it is to know what to do in these situations, and how it really is important to have an escape plan etc. As someone with a fire phobia, I will always be cautious, even if seeming paranoid, and I hope me or my family never have to experience such a thing.