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Two arrested following fatal house fire

3/ 7/2008

DETECTIVES investigating a fatal house fire in which 71-year-old Hameeda Begum died have made two arrests.

A 22-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy, both from the Great Lever area of Bolton, were this morning arrested on suspicion of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

They have been taken to a police station outside the Bolton area and are currently being questioned by officers.

The arrests relate to the fatal blaze at Little Holme Walk, Great Lever, on Monday 23 June 2008.
 
At 11.30pm the fire brigade alerted police to a house fire on Little Holme Walk.

Four people had been inside the house at the time of the blaze: Hameeda, her husband Mumtaz Chisty, 24-year-old daughter Saima Mian and granddaughter five-year-old girl Alana.

The occupants were rescued from the house by firefighters but Hameeda later died in hospital.

Mrs Mian, a teaching assistant who was visiting relatives in Bolton from Australia, remains in a critical condition at Wythenshawe Hospital. Alana is fighting for life in a specialist burns unit at a hospital in Leicester and has had a series of heart operations.

Three firefighters who helped rescue the occupants also received burns. One of the firmen, Steve Morris, 38 suffered up to 50 per cent burns to his lower back and legs, and serious burns to his hands as he tried to rescue Mrs Begum. 

Alana's dad, Fahad Mian, 25, has flown in from Australia to be with his wife and child and is keeping a vigil by the hospital bedsides.

Mrs Begum's son, Qaisar Mumtaz, 32, said Fahad was splitting his time between the hospitals.

"He is devastated," he said. "They were here for a holiday and now they're fighting for their lives. Alana's lungs have been severely damaged by smoke and my sister's lungs are also severely damaged. Neither of them are out of danger."

The house on Little Holme Walk remains boarded up and is surrounded by charred debris. Mr Chishty, a jeweller, told how his wife saved his life by waking him up when a fire alarm sounded.

He managed to escape and Mrs Mian and Alana were rescued by firefighters after neighbours made dramatic attempts to free the trapped family.

A community meeting was also held on the case at a mosque yesterday.

Anyone with information is urged to call 0161 856 2197 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.