The bravery of a group of police officers in Northern Ireland who rescued two adults and two children from a burning house has been hailed by the region’s deputy chief constable.
A 70-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man are critically ill in hospital following the blaze at the property in Dungannon on Monday night.
Two children, aged seven and 10, were described as being in a stable condition, while eight police officers taken to hospital for smoke inhalation have been released.
A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson following the blaze.
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton spoke to the media on Tuesday following a house fire in Dungannon on Monday night (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)
Bobby Singleton said the thoughts of the PSNI are with the families and that they are extremely proud of the bravery of their colleagues involved in the rescue.
Speaking to media at PSNI headquarters in east Belfast on Tuesday, Mr Singleton said he believes those in the house may have died had it not been for the “brave and courageous actions of these police officers”, expressing his pride in his colleagues.
Asked about what police believe was the motive behind the incident, Mr Singleton said they are keeping an open mind at this stage.
He described how police were the first emergency responders to arrive on the scene at Cunninghams Lane to find a house well alight before acting to rescue those inside.
“Our officers obtained two ladders from neighbouring properties and were able to rescue an unresponsive 70-year-old woman and a young child from the rear of the property,” he said.
“A number of the officers then very bravely entered the house and brought the second child and a 37-year-old to safety. The adults remain in a critical condition in hospital whilst the children, thankfully, as we understand it, are presently in a stable condition.
“We can confirm that this fire was started deliberately. It’s hard to comprehend that mindless cruelty of the kind of this act, and the panic and fear it caused to those in the home, is absolutely unimaginable.”
Emergency services at the scene in the Cunninghams Lane area of Dungannon after four people have been ‘led to safety’ by police officers from a house fire in Co Tyrone (Liam McBurney/PA)
Mr Singleton said eight officers from the local policing team in Dungannon, including two sergeants and six constables, were also taken to hospital after the fire.
“I’m extremely thankful that our colleagues were released in the early hours of this morning following treatment, and although they’re still suffering from the effects from smoke inhalation and will be absent from work for a period of time, they are thankfully, all OK,” he said.
“We’re extremely proud of what our officers did at the scene last night and we want to put that on the record. At a time when we’re advertising police recruitment for new officers, their actions serve as a very powerful demonstration of what policing here is all about.”
Mr Singleton also said he is aware of videos and photographs of the fire and events surrounding circulating on social media.
“We would ask that people be mindful of the victims of this despicable attack, and refrain from sharing this footage,” he said.
“Instead, we would ask that anyone with information contact us on 101, quoting reference 1668 of 03/02/25.”