Tragedy as teenage girl dies in horror arson attack house fire with two relatives left fighting for life
A GIRL with a 'heart of gold' has tragically died in a flat fire and police suspect it was an arson attack.
Leah Casson, 18, is believed to have been killed after a blaze broke out in a property on Vicarage Street, in North Shields.
The fire began just before 3.30am early on Monday January 16.
Emergency services arrived by 3.38am with at least five fire engines, police, paramedics , Northern Gas Networks and Northern Powergrid staff.
Three other family members were in the flat with Leah and two remain in hospital in critical condition.
Northumbria Police have confirmed they are treating the inferno as a suspected arson attack.
Read More
Many residents have had to be evacuated as there are structural safety concerns.
Kerry Riches, from Wallsend, is a close friend of the family and has set-up a .
She wrote: "As a result of this terrible incident a young talented girl with a heart of gold has lost her life and the other members of the family were hospitalised.
"We need our community to pull together to give Leah the send off she deserves and get the family back into accommodation and help with furnishings, clothing etc."
Most read in The Sun
A cordon is currently in place at the scene and officers are carrying out door to door enquiries.
Detective Inspector Louise Jenkins, the Senior Investigating Officer on the case said: “We are determined to establish exactly what happened in those moments leading up to the fire, and have been working around the clock with the support of our partners from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, since we first received their call for assistance.
“While enquiries are at an early stage, we are not ruling anything out and are currently treating the incident as suspected arson.
“We have specialist investigators on the case who will be carrying out detailed forensic enquiries, as well as reviewing CCTV and working with residents to establish if anyone might have seen what happened in the moments prior to the fire."
Anyone who has any information that could help with enquiries is being urged to contact police.