Second person dies following house fire in Reading

Police say a man in his nineties died on Thursday morning

Author: Jonathan RichardsPublished 6th Apr 2023

A second person has died following a residential fire at a property in Erleigh Road, Reading, in the early hours of yesterday morning (5/4).

Police responded, alongside Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service and South Central Ambulance Service to reports of a large house fire at just after 1.30am yesterday.

The fire was extinguished, and tragically, one person, a woman aged in her sixties, died yesterday.

Sadly, a second person, a man in his nineties, died in the early hours of this morning (6/4), whilst in hospital.

Three others have been injured, and remain in hospital at this time.

Superintendent Steve Raffield, the Local Policing Area Commander for Reading, said:

“Tragically, as a result of this fire, a second person has sadly died of their injuries.

“This incident is an absolute tragedy, and first and foremost, our thoughts are with the family and friends of the people who have died and who have been injured.

“The family are being offered support by officers at this extremely difficult time.

“Three children, are still currently being treated in hospital, and currently remain in a critical condition.

“The fire was extinguished by Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service and no adjoining properties were affected."

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue service say the cause was accidental.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.