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Boy, 15, and man, 21, still held over arson attack

PA Media A yellow and blue police car is parked outside a row of terrace houses. The house on the right has burnt out windows and a ladder leading to the upstairs left window.PA Media
Police say the fire was started deliberately

A 15-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man remain in custody following an arson attack on a house in Dungannon, County Tyrone.

Two people remain in a critical condition following the fire.

The 21-year-old was arrested after being found on the roof of the house.

Police officers rescued a man aged 37 and 70-year-old woman along with two children, aged seven and 10, from the house in Cunninghams Lane on Monday night. The children are in a stable condition.

A ladder is leading to the upstairs window of a burnt out house. A green protective sheet is covering the front door.
Police officers rescued a man and a women, along with two children from the house

The 21-year-old man and 15-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said police are not currently treating the incident as a hate crime.

Police say the fire was started deliberately.

Eight PSNI officers were treated in hospital for the effects of smoke inhalation but were later discharged.

Officers responded to a report of children trapped in a house just after 20:30 GMT on Monday.

Singleton said the police were "the first emergency responders on site", at which point the fire was "well alight".

Two ladders were then obtained from nearby properties, and officers rescued two adults and two children, including an unresponsive 70-year-old woman.

Cadalia Freitas - a woman with long, highlighted hair is wearing a baseball cap and circular glasses. She is also wearing a puffed black coat. She is standing on a footpath in front of a row of terraced houses.
Cadalia Freitas, who lives in the area, rang emergency services when the alarm was raised

Cadalia Freitas was in her home nearby when her brother, who had left to go to work, raised the alarm.

She called the police before rushing to the house, where Ms Freitas heard children crying for help. Police arrived soon after.

She directed an officer with a ladder to the window, who helped rescue them.

Ms Freitas said she was "scared" and "traumatised" after witnessing the incident, and struggled to sleep as she smoke in the area made her cough.