Five children have been arrested on suspicion of arson as police launched a murder investigation into a house fire.
Police said one person remained ‘unaccounted for’ following a fire at a property on Honestone Street in Bideford, Devon, at around 8.30pm on Tuesday.
Officers initially treated the incident as arson, but the investigation has since been escalated to murder due to the missing individual.
The person’s next-of-kin are said to have been informed.
Devon and Cornwall Police said four boys and a girl, all from North Devon and aged under 18, had now been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
The children are being held in police custody.
The force said a man in his 30s, from Bideford, was previously arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and has been released on police bail.
Det Insp Chris Lithgow said: ‘We are treating this as a murder investigation, as murder is one of several hypotheses currently being investigated by our officers.
‘We are working with the local authority to support the displaced residents and hope to enable them to return to their homes as soon as it is safe to do so.
‘This is a challenging investigation and we are working tirelessly to establish the circumstances surrounding the fire. One man remains unaccounted for at this time.’
Around 45 people were evacuated from their homes as 15 fire crews battled the fire.
Police said one person remained ‘unaccounted for’ following a fire at a property on Honestone Street in Bideford, Devon, at around 8.30pm on Tuesday (pictured: a view of Bideford)
A spokesman for Torridge District Council said that 30 residents had been placed in temporary housing as police continue to investigate the fire.
Speaking to DevonLive, witness Paul Nicholls, 62, said: ‘I saw some smoke while I was eating my dinner, I live about 200yrds away. I was eating and I left on my own accord because my house was starting to fill with smoke. When I got back there was a raging fire.’
Another local, Adele Carter, 54, said: ‘We saw all the smoke so we went out into the ally way, it was just awful to see people in danger. It’s a small community so you look out for people’.
Mayor and councillor Peter Lawrence offered his thoughts to those affected said he feared the residents forced to leave their homes ‘unfortunately may not be able to go back for quite some time, our thoughts are with them’.
Mr Lawrence, who was speaking before the police update, added: ‘We hope that the person that is still missing is missing because they are somewhere else and not in the building.’
A scene guard was said to still be in place and some residents ‘remain evacuated from their homes’, according to police.
Det Insp Lithgow continued: ‘We appreciate this is a worrying time for the local community, but I would like to thank residents for their patience and support.
‘We would ask people not to speculate online regarding this incident.
‘There will continue to be a heightened police presence in the area and anybody with concerns or information is asked to approach our officers.
‘If anybody has any information or footage which may help our investigation, please call 101 or visit our website quoting log 748 of 28 October.’
