Man and girl, 14, killed in early-morning house fire as neighbours urgently evacuated
A TEENAGE girl and a 58-year-old man have died after a blaze took hold of a home in a Cumbria village during the early hours of the morning.
Firefighters were called to reports of an inferno at Toll Bar Houses in Distington shortly before 4.50am.
Tragically, despite their efforts, the 14-year-old and the man died at the scene.
Neighbours were also evacuated from nearby properties.
No other injuries were reported.
Horrifying photos show the extent of the blaze, which tore through a roof and appears to have shattered windows.
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Both the front and the back of the property is charred and scorched.
The roof of a neighbour's home has also been partially destroyed.
Fire crews were still fighting the flames at 9.15am - around four-and-a-half hours after 999 calls were made.
John Beard, chief fire officer of Cumbria fire and rescue, told the BBC this morning: “We were faced with a really serious fully developed fire on arrival, so the crews had a really challenging incident to deal with.
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“It is under control now so the crews are just damping down the hotspots, but I expect our crews to be on scene for most of the morning, if not into the afternoon.
"The fire had spread to the next door property as well but the crews did a really good job to stop it spreading from the roof of the neighbouring property."
He said it's still too early to know what had caused the fire.
Blazes of this "severity" are rare, he added.
The service remains at the scene this afternoon, and the road has been closed to traffic.
Cops are working together with the fire service to investigate the cause of the fire.
HORROR FIRE
A number of roads were shut and remain closed.
The A595, the A597 and the B5306 all have some closures, and police have asked drivers to avoid the area.
In a statement, Cumbria Police said: "A 58-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl, both from Distington, died at the scene of the fire.
"Police and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service are working together to investigate the potential cause of the fire.
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"Neighbouring properties were evacuated and there are no further reported injuries at this time.
"A number of roads remain closed as emergency services continue to deal with this incident."
