A DISABLED schoolboy is one of two children fighting for their lives after a fire tore through their bungalow.
Firefighters rescued two boys, believed to be ten and 13, when emergency services were called to Beambridge, Pitsea, at 3.15pm on Monday after a blaze broke out in a family home.
Essex Police has concluded there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire.
A neighbour, who wished not to be named, told how one of the children suffers from cerebral palsy.
It is a condition affecting movement and co-ordination.
When the Echo attended the scene, the windows and doors of the charred terrace home were boarded up.
A destroyed drain pipe hung from the roof, above a pile of destroyed belongings.
Burnt video games, children’s clothes, colouring pens and furniture laid scattered among the rubble.
The neighbour said: “I was out at the time of the fire.
“If I was home I would have gone in there and helped to rescue those children.
“I do see the children from time to time playing out the front and I always say hello.
“One of the boys has cerebral palsy.
“My house suffered smoke damage, but it’s not too bad luckily.
“When I got back the dogs were freaked out.
“What happened there is such a shame – let’s hope those boys pull through.”
The 13-year-old was flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital while the ten-year-old boy was taken to Basildon Hospital by ambulance, with Essex Police reporting that they were both in ‘life-threatening conditions’.
They have both since been transferred to Great Ormond Street in London.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
However, a joint investigation is being carried out between Essex Police and the fire service.
Residents told the Echo of the horrific scene while the drama unfolded.
One resident reported seeing a woman covered in smoke and ash calling for help while her children were still inside the property.
The fire was extinguished by 4.30pm.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: “The 13-year-old boy and ten-year-old boy remain in life-threatening conditions and are currently being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
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