Four-year-old girl dies in Manchester house fire, and woman arrested on suspicion of arson

2 March 2025, 15:50 | Updated: 2 March 2025, 22:49

A girl, 4, has died in a house fire in Manchester and a woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson.

The girl was rescued from a property in Gateshead Close, but suffered serious injuries, reports Greater Manchester Police.

A police spokesperson said: "Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, the girl died from her injuries in hospital a short time after."

A woman, 44, was arrested on suspicion of arson with the intent to endanger life.

The police said she was known to the child and assure there is no wider threat to the community.

Specialist officers continue to investigate the scene at Gateshead Close, near Rusholme.

Emergency services attended the fire around 12:35pm today.

Reports say they quickly extinguished the fire and removed the four-year-old girl from the property but she died a short time later.

"This awful incident has seen the tragic death of a young girl, and I would like to send my condolences to her friends and family.

"Numerous emergency services attended the scene and all did their utmost best to save her," said Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley.

She said that police are "fully investigating all circumstances of the fire and will leave no stone unturned as we carry out this work."

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Graffiti has appeared near the scene, reading "you are loved".

Worshippers at the nearby Celestial Church of Christ described how they stopped their service to help the girl, says the Manchester Evening News.

"Everybody came out to see how they could be of help to the family. Even the preacher stopped and we began to pray for the family of the deceased.

"Some were even crying. It's a child. It's difficult to lose a loved one, but when it's a child...we are very sorry for what happened," congregation member Samuel said.