Pair arrested after home fire in Swindon (From Swindon Advertiser)

Couple arrested after bedroom blaze in Swindon

11:11am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News

A COUPLE have been arrested after a blaze in the bedroom of a terraced home in Ferndale Road late on Sunday night.

Fire crews were called to the address at around 10.30pm and police arrived moments later as firefighters donned masks and entered the small house to tackle the fire.

Two people, a man and a woman in their 50s and understood to be the homeowners, were arrested and taken to Gablecross police station.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said they had to take their young children downstairs to escape the heavy smoke in their bedrooms.

He said: “I went outside to see what was going on and the guy was stood by the door, which had quite thick smoke coming out. I ran upstairs to check on the children and there was a bit of smoke up there so we all slept downstairs – it was a bit scary.”

A police spokesman said: “We were called at around 10.30pm to a house fire by the Fire Service who thought it may have been suspicious. Two people were arrested, a 52-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman, and were taken to Gablecross police station for questioning.”

A spokesman for the fire service said: “The fire was on the first-floor bedroom and crews used breathing apparatus and a hose to extinguish the fire.”