A SECOND child, a three-year-old boy, has died after a fire at a flat in Belvedere.
Tiffany Charlesworth, five, and her little brother Dylan were trapped with their mother Fiona, 27, in their first floor flat in Clive Road, Belvedere.
Frantic neighbours were woken by the family’s screams at around 2.45am yesterday.
Betty Osman, who lives in the downstairs flat, said she had heard the children screaming.
After realising the upstairs flat was on fire, she and another neighbour dialled 999.
Firefighters from Erith fire station, which is less than a mile away, were quickly on the scene and rescued the family.
They had the fire under control by 3.33am.
The mum and her two children were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, where Tiffany was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Dylan was later transferred to a specialist paediatric unit at Guy’s Hospital in London, where he died.
News Shopper understands both children were overcome by smoke.
Ms Charlesworth was also transferred from Woolwich to the James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth where she was to undergo specialist oxygen treatment in a decompression chamber because of the damage to her lungs.
She remains in a critical condition.
News Shopper understands a third child, Charlie, aged around 10, was away from home on Sunday night and was not involved in the fire.
Police have confirmed they are not treating the cause of the blaze as suspicious.
Ms Osman said the family of four had lived in the flat for around a year.
She described Tiffany as “a sweet little girl”.
She added: “It has been very upsetting.”
Her own home escaped the blaze, although it has suffered some water damage.
A 25-year-old local resident, who did not want to be named, said yesterday: “It was about 2.50am and I heard her screaming.
“You could hear the panic in her voice.
“It is awful. Everyone is devastated.”
Today, friends and neighbours had begun to leave tributes outside the house, including flowers and a teddy bear.
One message said: “Our thoughts are with you at all times.”
Another read: “You will be missed, rest in peace little one.”
And a third said: “Thinking of you all. You’re in our hearts and prayers.”
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