A woman in her 30s has been arrested after the deaths of two boys, aged one and three, in a house fire in Wolverhampton.
The woman, who was arrested on suspicion of causing or allowing the death of two children, remains in custody on Saturday afternoon, West Midlands Police said.
Officers were called to Mason Street at about 8.30pm on Friday along with West Midlands Fire Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service, the force said.
Firefighters entered the property and rescued two young children, but they were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Their family is being supported by specialist officers.
Two other children and a woman were already out of the house before emergency services arrived.
They were checked over by ambulance staff but did not need hospital treatment.
Police have cordoned off the end-of-terrace house, which was extensively damaged, while work is done to establish the cause of the fire.
On Saturday morning, forensic officers could be seen entering the property wearing protective equipment.
Officers are continuing with door-to-door enquiries with CCTV from the area also being retrieved and reviewed, police said.
A cordon at the scene is likely to remain in place for some time, the force added.
DCI Kylie Westlake, from the public protection unit, said: “This is a truly tragic incident and our thoughts remain very much with those who loved the children who have been lost.
“We understand the shock and distress this awful incident will have caused to many people and we are working at pace to ascertain exactly what has happened.
“Officers have arrested a woman on suspicion of causing or allowing the death of two children.
“While we would ask people not to speculate about this or the wider incident, we would ask that anyone who can help with our enquiries, and who is yet to speak with us, to get in contact.”
In a statement, West Midlands Fire Service said crews arrived within five minutes of receiving reports.
“Our thoughts are with the children’s loved ones and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident,” the fire service said.
Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or via live chat quoting log 5640 of April 24.
