Four family members die in Waterford house fire

Four members of the English family died and two children were critically injured in a deliberately set house fire in Waterford, as Gardaí investigate the deaths as murder. The fire broke out at the family’s home in the Birchwood area shortly after 5 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13. The dead were parents Philip and Kim English and their children Callum and Jayden. Their two surviving children were taken to hospital with critical injuries, according to Gardaí. An Garda Síochána said the circumstances of the fatal fire were under investigation and it could not provide further details at that stage. The house was declared a crime scene and underwent technical examination. The Irish Fire Service said it was alerted at 5:13 a.m., and crews found a well-developed fire, removed casualties and extinguished the blaze before handing the scene to Gardaí. Gardaí appealed for information from anyone who was near Birch Avenue between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. on October 13, including drivers with dashcam footage. They also reported searches at several Waterford premises and the seizure of cars and electronic devices for forensic examination.