Fire chiefs say four separate rooms were set alight by the arsonists, causing widespread damage to the house in Harris Street. Millfield, Peterborough.

A search of the building was launched by fire crews, who arrived at the scene at about 4.30am, and believed people were trapped inside.

They carried out a thorough search of the property and broke down the door of the adjacent house as smoke had spread through the roof space.

No one was inside either of the buildings, but firefighters said arsonists had still put lives in danger.

Watch manager at Dogsthorpe fire station Steve Duffy, who, along with firefighters from Stanground and Peterborough Volunteers, tackled the blaze, said: "There wasn't anyone in at the time, but it was reported that there was.

"If we believe there are people in the property, we make every effort to rescue them.

"We deployed breathing apparatus into the building in order to carry out a thorough search of each room as quickly as possible.

"It was deliberate and multi-sited, which means there were four separate fires in four different rooms. Furniture was set alight.

"Clearly, this is a deliberate act and has certainly put lives at risk.

"The property was an end terrace. There is a row of five houses, the majority of which have a common roof space.

"When fire gets into the roof, which it did in this case, it travels along and begins to affect other properties, where people are asleep.

"But because of the offensive tactics we employed, we managed to stop fire in the original property.

"Smoke did affect other properties."

He added: "Had we not acted as we did, the fire would certainly have spread, and considering the time of night the fire occurred, lives would have been put at risk."

The fire was under control by just before 6am.

There was extensive smoke and fire damage to both the first and ground floors.

Investigators from the fire service and police were at the scene this morning combing the scene for clues.

If you have any information, call police on 0845 456 4564, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.


A 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman from Peterborough have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, and are currently in custody at Thorpe Wood police station.